Cold Case Noir
by I Dream of Scotty
Summary: The sister of a 1992 murder victim comes to visit Detective Valens with new evidence that might help find her brother's killer. Little does he know, this case is not as black and white as it first appears! Ultimately, it will be L/S.
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is an AU fic with a film noir kind of atmosphere. It will ultimately be L/S with a sprinkling of the other characters in there too. Please read and review :- )

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case **

It was a cold and rainy Friday night in Philadelphia. I was wrapping up another cold case and getting ready to leave when this lady walks into my office, looking lost. "Can I help you?" I ask.

"Are you one of those detectives that look at old cases?"

"Yeah," I reply, "Detective Valens."

"Maria Garner," she says, and shakes my hand. "My brother was murdered in ninety two. His name was David. David Garner. He was only 19."

I pull out a chair and gesture for her to sit down. She does, and I do the same.

"The cops back then said it was a robbery gone bad, but I never believed it." She paused and I could see tears forming in her eyes. "They never found who did it?"

She shook her head, "No. He was caught up in some kind of trouble Detective, I don't know what kind, but he was always sneaking around. Coming home late covered in bruises. There was this one time when I found him passed out on the bathroom floor, smelling of booze and he was clutching…..this." She pulls out an envelope from her purse, reaches into it and pulls out a diamond ring.

"That's a nice ring!" I say, eyeing the piece of jewellery in front of me.

"See, the thing, detective, is that David would never have been able to afford this on what he was earning. Which means that he either stole it or he got the money from somewhere else."

"You think that's what they were after? I mean, whoever killed your brother could have been looking for that?"

She was silent for a few seconds and she looked like she was turning something over in her mind. "I had considered it. For a long time. I…I guess that's why I never told the cops about this back then…you see, I was going to ask him about it but he had left the house before I got the chance. I've had it all these years, never got the chance to give it back to him." She wiped her tear-stained cheeks and then continued. "I think if I gave it back to him then maybe they would have just taken it, maybe they wouldn't have killed him. Oh God! What if it's my fault he's dead?"

She broke down into a crying fit then. I felt sorry her.

"Can you tell me who you think might have wanted that ring?" I ask, trying to focus her attention on something constructive.

"There is one person I can think of detective," She says, "there was this guy he was always hanging out with…Windsdale….James Windsdale. The guy was trouble, I think he was into drugs and I know he had been arrested before."

"And the police didn't look at him back in ninety two?"

"They said he had an alibi. But I know he must have been involved somehow. He and my brother were always getting into trouble together, he was a bad influence."

"Do you know where I could find this Windsdale?" I ask.

"He was working for a gang with mob connections – I don't remember what they were called but I remember him mentioning a name a few times – Stilman."

…

It wasn't much to go on, but there was something about that lady that made me want to help her. Maybe it was the look of desperation she had as she clutched onto that ring, maybe it was the fact that she could never really rest until her brother's death was solved, either way, I promised myself that I would do whatever I could to help her. Hell, I knew what it was like to lose someone you cared about, and not know why.

The name led me to a little bar across town called Jones' Tavern. It was a nice little joint, small, intimate. I walked across to the bar where the bartender was pouring a drink for a depressed looking man who, by the look of things was trying to drink himself to death. Poor bastard. After he had finished the bartender looks up at me and smiles, "what can I get you?" he asks.

"Information." I say as I show him my badge. "I'm Detective Valens, Philly Homicide. What can you tell me about a James Windsdale?"

"Comes round here all the time." He replies, "quiet kind of man, likes to keep to himself."

"You have any idea where I can find him?"

"Should be here today. Usually comes in around nine thirty."

I look at my watch – I have another hour to kill before then. "Thanks." I say, "Can I have a scotch?"

"Sure thing." He says and pours my drink into a glass.

"I never got your name."

"Will." He says, "Will Jeffries." Just then a woman walks out from the back room and Jeffries tells her something quietly, she nods, then looks at me and I smile.

"Will says you have some questions you want to ask me about James?"

" Errr yeah, I'm detective Valens." I tell her as I reach out to shake her hand.

"Lilly Rush. Nice to meet you, detective Valens." She says as she extends her hand to me and smiles.

They say that only fools fall in love, but I must be the biggest fool of all. Cos one look at her and I was ready to give my heart away. She was beautiful. Silky blonde hair and eyes like sapphires that sparkled under the florescent lighting of the bar. I don't think the strongest drink I've ever had has ever intoxicated me more than that smile. I was smitten, and in my line of work, that usually wasn't a great idea.

"You know Windsdale?" I ask, trying to sound as professional as I could.

"He comes by here all the time, always orders the same thing. Martini, 2 olives. We talk from time to time." I gesture for her to follow me to a table where we could sit down and talk. She follows. Once we are both sitting down, she continues. "He isn't much of a talker detective, but over the years, he and I have developed a kind of…odd friendship."

"Odd? In what way?" I ask.

She hesitates and there's a flash of…something, in her expression. It was only there for a split second and then it was gone. That was interesting.

"He's been coming in here every day since his friend died."

"His friend? You mean David Garner?"

"Garner? Yeah, I think that was his name. He said he was murdered but he wouldn't go into the details, and to be honest, detective, I didn't want to push him. Most of the time we would just sit together in silence. I think he just needs someone to be with him."

I take a sip of my scotch, never once taking my eyes off her. "Did he ever mention anything about a ring?" I ask.

She thinks about this for a second and then says, "No, I don't think he ever did. Why do you ask?"

"We think Garner may have been killed over it."

"That's terrible!" she says, a genuinely sad expression on her face. She then looks down at her hands, as if she's pondering something.

"Are you okay?" I ask.

She looks up at me and says, "You don't think James had anything to do with it do you?"

"What makes you say that?"

She shakes her head, "nothing…"

I can tell she's hiding something so I push, "Do _you_ think he had something to do with it?" She goes all quiet on me and I know I'm onto something here. "Miss Rush, if you know something then now is a really good time to tell me."

"I….I don't think he murdered his friend but…" she looks at me nervously. "But he would sometimes talk about how he's going to repay a debt. I don't know what he meant by that but it seemed to make him very upset."

I think about that for a few seconds. Maria Garner had told me Windsdale was working for someone called Stilman. Maybe her brother was working for him too? "Do you remember him talking about a guy called Stilman?"

"Stilman? No, I don't think so."

"Did you ever meet Mr Garner?" I ask.

"No, never." She said.

She tilted her head down again, "I'm sorry detective, I want to help you, but he doesn't really talk to me about anything. I know he's innocent, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would kill someone."

I smile a little at that. Over the years, I've learned never to pre-judge a person. Anyone could become a killer, given the right reasons. I had to talk to Windsdale myself, find out if he had any reason to kill.

I was about to thank Miss Rush for her time, when I noticed she was looking at me with a startled expression on her face. I was about to ask her what was wrong when I suddenly feel a cold metal barrel pressed against my head and a male voice says, "get away from her!"

I slowly raise my hands in the air and stand up. "Take it easy," I tell him and was about to show him my badge when I feel a sharp pain in my jaw. And then, all hell breaks loose!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. It really means a lot :- ) Hope you like this chapter too. If you do, please let me know!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case. **

I'm still trying to figure out what the hell is going on when I feel a fist connect with my stomach but before I have any time to register the pain I'm pushed backwards onto the table and it was only then that I get a proper look at his face. He was a white male, probably in his late thirties, stubble covering his face and crazy, wild looking eyes. I could smell the alcohol reeking off him as he lunges over me, his fist looking to get acquainted with my face. I don't give him the chance; I reach backwards on the table, find my glass of scotch and quickly throw it into his face. He was startled. That's when I roll off the table and get to my feet. I quickly disarm him, grab his arms, and cuff him before he has time to wipe all the scotch from his eyes.

It only just hits me then that we had managed to attract a lot of attention from the other patrons at the bar. "It's okay," I assure, showing them my badge. "I'm a cop." That seemed to settle them down a bit. I grab him by the arm and was about to lead him out the door and take him down to the station when Miss Rush calls me.

"Detective!" she cries, and she sounds distressed. I turn around and I see she is almost in tears. "Please don't hurt him!"

"You know this ass clown?" I ask.

"That's James." she replies.

"I have to take him down to the station. He assaulted a police officer..."

"Then I'm coming too!"

I was a little taken back by that. I mean, what was a beautiful woman like her doing with a guy like this? "I don't think that's a good idea Miss Rush."

"I'm coming with you!" she insists and now I really am intrigued.

"Okay."

...

The drive back to Central was a relatively quiet one. Windsdale had passed out five minutes into the journey. Miss Rush sat in the passenger seat next to me, her eyes fixed on the road ahead. I tried to make conversation, tried to get inside her head. Just who was this woman and just what was her relationship with this Windsdale? "You okay Miss Rush?"

"I'm fine." She says as she dabs at the tears in her eyes. Damn, I hate to see a lady cry.

"There's some tissues in the glove compartment." I tell her.

"Thank you." She says and retrieves them.

There's silence for the next ten or so minutes before I felt I had to break it up.

"He always like this?" I ask, "Shoot first, ask questions later?"

"No. He's a good man Detective." She sounds sincere.

I smirk, "so it's just _you_ he's protective of huh?" She looks down, but doesn't comment and I can't help the smile that creeps up on my face. "Can't say I blame him. If I had a girl like you I'd be protective too!"

"It's not like that Detective. I'm not his girl."

"Just good friends then?"

"Something like that." I can see a slight blush appear on her pale cheeks.

...

We finally arrive at headquarters and I have a couple of uniforms take Windsdale to be processed before finally putting him into an interrogation room. Another detective has the first go at questioning him while I sit in observation watching for any weaknesses. The man I see in that room is quite a contrast from the one at the bar. Sobered up, James Windsdale looked just like any other guy in the street. I listen to the conversation with a cold compress in my hand, tending to the bruise on my jaw.

"I'm sorry sir. I didn't know that guy was a cop!"

"You didn't even give him time to show you his badge!" the other detective countered.

"I thought he was going to hurt Lilly. You're a cop; you know what kind of scum is out there!"

Just then, the door to observation opens and Miss Rush walks in. "They said it was okay to let me watch." She says. I nod and she walks over to me. "What's going to happen to him?"

"We'll have to hold him for questioning. We still need to speak to him about Windsdale." I tell her while trying to hear what was being said in the other room. Suddenly I feel a soft hand on my cheek and I turn to see Miss Rush looking at my bruised face.

"That looks painful." She says and then takes the towel from my hand and starts applying it to my jaw. Slow, tender touches to my skin and suddenly I wasn't interested in what was happening next door. The lady had the bedside manner of an angel. "I'm sorry that he did this to you. I know he didn't mean it. He's just been really depressed for a long time. He doesn't trust people."

"He seems to trust you."

"He and I...I've been where he is. There was a time I didn't trust anyone too."

I was about to ask her to elaborate when the door opened again and the other detective taps me on the shoulder. "He's all yours." He says. I nod and make my way into the Box.

As I enter, Windsdale looks at me. "Hello Windsdale. Sobered up I see."

"Detective. I'm sorry….I…didn't know you were a cop. It's just, there's been a lot of trouble coming through town, I thought maybe you were…"

"Maybe I was what?" I ask, "trying to take advantage of your girl?"

"Yeah," he says, "something like that." He runs his fingers through his hair and looks at me. His eyes look different now, tired. I kinda feel sorry for the guy, at least I would have, if the son of a bitch didn't punch me in the stomach. "You're not going to put me away are you? I can't go to prison!" I notice the desperate tone to his voice and I decide to take advantage of it.

"That depends," I say and slap down the Garner case file on the table in front of him. "What can you tell me about your friend David Garner?"

I could tell by the expression on his face that he didn't see that one coming. "David?" he asks. "He died twenty years ago!"

This guy was as sharp as a tack.

"We're having another look at his case." I tell him, "We think he may have been murdered." He gets this funny look on his face and decides to go all quiet on me then. "Hey!" I say, "You better start answerin' my questions or I'm goin' to send your sorry ass to jail!"

He shakes his head like he's coming out of a daydream. "Sorry...murdered? Are you sure?"

"We got some new evidence that suggests homicide."

"W..what new evidence?"

I circle round to face him. "I'm the one asking the questions here. What do you know about a guy named Stilman?"

"I...don't know anyone called Stilman."

"Now ya see I know that's a lie! We hear you and David were workin' for him, back in the day." I knew that if I leant on him hard enough he would break.

"Okay, me and David used to collect money for him. That's all! I swear! We were just kids."

"Now somehow I don't believe you. You rap sheet says you've been arrested for carjacking, burglary, possession of Meth!"

"Sometimes...when people didn't pay up, Stilman would have us take the money in other ways. David wouldn't have any part of it though. Made Stilman mad as hell one day."

"What did he do?"

"He called him into his office, had him escorted there by two big guys, you know, heavy muscle. I heard Stilman shouting at him and furniture being thrown around. I didn't stick around after that, just got the hell outta there. Everyone knows not to mess with Stilman!"

"You think Stilman might have killed David? For disobeyin' him?"

He shrugs, "I don't know, but I wouldn't put it passed him. He's one guy you don't cross- and David crossed him!"

...

It was starting to look more and more like Stilman was a part of this. I had to find him, but tracking him down was proving more difficult than finding a vegetarian at a hot dog eating contest. I had a feeling that I should have another chat with the bartender, Jeffries. He was bound to know something. But that would have to wait until the morning. It was getting late and I had promised Miss Rush that I would drive her home. We walked out of the station and over to the parking lot. There was a chill in the air now so I offer her my coat. She takes it and smiles. "Thank you Detective."

There was something about this woman that I just couldn't figure out. She seemed so fragile on the outside but I got the feeling there was something more. A hidden strength. But before I had time to ponder over that thought a shot rings through the air and ricochets off the back of the car. "What was that?" she asks. Then another shot is fired in our direction.

"Gunshots! Get in the car!" I shout as I quickly open the door for her. She hurries inside and I run around to the other side, turn on the ignition and floor it out of there. I drove as fast as I could. I didn't know where I was going, all I knew was that I was driving for our lives!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, it really brightens my day!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case.**

It wasn't long before I realise we were being tailed by another car. I tried to get a look at the person driving but I couldn't see their face. God only knows why we were being followed but at least the shooting had stopped, at least for now. I drive down several streets, turning into a number of side roads in an attempt to lose them, and it takes a good half hour of driving before I finally do. I drive a little longer to make sure, and then pull into the parking lot of a motel. Miss Rush had barely said a word to me since we left Central. "You okay?" I ask.

"Yeah, I guess so. What's going on Detective?"

"I'm not sure," I tell her, "but I'll bet it's got something to do with this case."

"You think that whoever killed James' friend is trying to kill us too?"

I want to reassure her, tell her it'll be alright, but in the end I decide that honesty was probably the way to go. "I don't know, but it's possible. I think it might be a good idea for you to stay here tonight. I don't think it'll be safe for you to go home." I tell her but I could see she wasn't happy about that.

"I'll be okay, I want to go home."

I shake my head, "look, if someone really is trying to kill you then it's best to lie low for a while. Come on, let's get you checked in." She was about to protest, but I was having none of it. "This is not debatable!" I tell her and she relents.

….

After she checks in, I walk her to her room, all the time scanning the area for any sign that our pursuer might have followed us here. We reach the door; she opens it and walks inside. "You should be okay here tonight, but I'll be right outside in the car. If you need anything, here's my cell number." I write this down on the back of my Philly PD business card and hand it to her. "I'll check on you in the morning."

She nods and closes the door. I walk back to the car. Her room was on the ground floor so it wasn't very far from where I had parked. I get inside and settle in for the night. I have a good view of her room from where I was parked.

Time ticked away slowly, but the quietness was reassuring. It had now been three hours since we got here. I used the time to think about the case so far. After talking to Windsdale, I was becoming less convinced that he was the doer. He was angry at the world, that much was clear, but my gut was telling me that there was someone else behind this. That, and the fact that Maria Garner said he had an alibi at the time. I would have to have another look into that in the morning. I thought about what Miss Rush had said about Windsdale having to repay a debt. Was he indebted to Stilman? Maybe Stilman had something on him, but what? I realised that I would have to have another chat with him. He wasn't very forthcoming last time but maybe spending the night in lockup might make him more talkative. It was worth a try.

I hadn't realised how caught up I had gotten in my thoughts until my cell phone rang. I picked it up and answered. "Valens."

"Detective!" came a female voice from the other end of the line. It was Miss Rush. "You need to get over here quickly! I think there's someone in the bathroom!"

"I'll be right there!" I tell her and, then hang up and race over to her door. She must have heard me coming as she opens the door the second I get there.

"I heard noises in there!" She points to the bathroom door.

I draw my gun and slowly head over in that direction. I put my ear to the door but I can't hear anything. I decide to kick the door in and enter the room, but there was no one there. I was about to turn around to tell her it was safe when I notice something. "Did you leave the window open?"

"No." She says.

I walk towards the bathroom window and look outside. Shit! He must have come round the back! I am about to go take a look outside when I see something in the corner of my eye. It looked like a wallet. I pick it up and open it.

"What's that?" Miss Rush asks.

"Looks like whoever was here left his ID behind." I then promptly close the window and quickly do a sweep of the area outside, Miss Rush stands nervously by the door. "He's not here now." I tell her as we both go back into the room. I shut the door and take out my cell phone. "I'm going to call for backup. Clearly, whoever he is, he's more persistent that I gave him credit for. I was sure we lost him but he still managed to track us down.

"You're not going back out to your car again are you?" she asks me.

"Yeah," I reply, "But I'll have a couple of officers stand guard here till the morning."

"I would feel a lot better if you stayed here...with me." She takes a few steps towards me and it's only then I realise that the only thing between me and her underwear is the robe that came with the motel room. I catch a glimpse of her thigh as she walks and force myself to look up into her eyes beautiful blues eyes.

Big mistake.

Suddenly the temperature in the room jumps five degrees. "You'll be fine with the police guard." I tell her. But in truth her idea sounded a lot better.

"But what about you?" She asks as she takes two more steps towards me. "If whoever is after us decides to start shooting again, you'll be safer in here than you will be out there."

Damn, she has a point. "Okay, I'll stay." I relent and quickly make my way over to the two seater couch in the corner before she has a chance to get any closer. "Try to get some sleep."

...

The rest of the night passed without incident. I dropped Miss Rush off at her apartment so she could have a change of clothes before giving her a lift to the bar where she worked. But before that, I had to quickly swing by the station. I left a uniformed cop outside her place to stand guard. I had some follow up questions for Windsdale and it turns out I was right about him spending time locked away. He was a little more cooperative. I asked him about his alibi for the night David Garner was killed. He said that he was out collecting money for Stilman from a guy named Eric Sanz. Didn't take long to track this Sanz character down. He backed Windsdale up one hundred percent, and told me to tell Windsdale that if he ever saw him again he would shove his head up his ass.

Working for Stilman sounded like a good way to make new friends!

Two hours later, I pick Miss Rush up from her apartment and drop her off for her shift at the bar. She thanks me and gives me another one of those heart-melting smiles. I watch her walk away and then proceed to the bar where I see Jeffries hard at work.

"Detective!" he greets me, "can I get you a scotch?"

I shake my head, "Just wanted to ask you a few follow up questions."

"Sure, what do you wanna know?"

"What do you know about a guy named Stilman?"

"Stilman? Local gang leader, comes in here sometimes. Why?"

"We think he may have had something to do with Garner's murder."

"I don't know Detective, I would have thought he'd have bigger fish to fry?"

I pause a while and then look him in the eye. "I had an interesting chat with Windsdale this morning; he tells me he owes you - big time!"

Jeffries shakes his head, "it's nothing." He says, I can tell he's being modest.

"The way he tells it, you helped him get out of the mob life, helped him get his job at the docks."

He nods, "he deserved better."

Just then, Miss Rush comes over to collect a tray. He smiles at her. "You two seem pretty close." I observed and I cringe at the faintest hint of jealousy in my voice.

"I've known her since she was sixteen. Kind of adopted her after her father left her life."

"Oh?" I ask, "Where's her mother?"

"Her mother's an alcoholic, never really had time for her. Ran away with some guy. Poor kid had it rough growing up!"

"So what, are you like some kinda good Samaritan? Giving kids breaks in life?"

"Let's just say, I know how it is to grow up the hard way. Windsdale's Lil's friend. She asked me to help him, and I did."

I shake my head, "so let me get this straight...Miss Rush's mother was an alcoholic and...she works in a bar?" I laugh at the irony.

"I consider it a form of therapy!" she whispers in my ear and I almost jump. I hadn't realised she was right behind me! I was about to reply when my cell phone rings.

"Valens." I say as I answer. It was another detective at the station. "Uh huh...yeah...what seriously? Thanks." I put the phone down, confused.

"What's wrong?" Miss Rush asks.

"You remember that guy who tried to break into your room?"

She nods, "How could I forget?"

"I had them run his ID through the system. His name's Nick Vera and it turns out, he's a PI!"

"A Private Investigator?" She sounds shocked, and I can't blame her.

I nod, "Question is, why would a private investigator be trying to kill us? And more importantly, who hired him?"


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: As always, I want to thank everyone who reviewed the last chapter. I am so glad you are enjoying this story! :- )

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

A while later, I'm back at my desk at Central trying to figure this all out. For some reason Miss Rush and I were the targets of a Private Investigator. I was certain it had something to do with this case but I had no idea what. I managed to track down the business address of this Nick Vera. It was a little office on the edge of town. I did a little digging and it turns out that Vera lost his licence about a couple of years ago due to reckless endangerment. After the way he started taking pot shots at us the other night it was clear this guy was a loose cannon. But why would he be trying to kill us? Was it a personal grudge? Or maybe he was unofficially back in business? Either way, I had to find out before someone wound up dead.

That afternoon I was getting ready to pay a visit to the former PI's office when a uniformed officer comes over to me and hands me a letter. "What's this?" I asked looking at the small white envelope that simply read 'Detective Valens'.

"Some guy dropped this off just now, said to give this to you." He said.

I nodded and as soon as he was gone, I open it. It read:

_The caged bird is hiding something, he has a buried secret. You reap what you sow._

What the hell? I thought. I read it again. Caged bird? Could they be referring to Windsdale? But why not come out and tell me, why the cryptic letter? A buried secret? It felt like a practical joke but part of me knew I couldn't take the chance, but after staring at the letter for ten minutes and getting nowhere I decide to take a walk to clear my head.

It was a sunny afternoon and I took a stroll around the block. This whole case was not making much sense. Just who could have sent that letter and what the hell did they mean by 'you reap what you sow'? Was that a veiled threat against Winsdale's life? Maybe Maria Garner was right about him after all and someone else had proof. He was safe as long as he was in lock up at least. I stop by a bench near the park and sit down as I start to feel my head begin to hurt. I noticed some daisies growing nearby and before I could stop myself, my thoughts begin to turn to Miss Rush and how I would like to pick a handful for her. _Get a hold of yourself Valens! _I say quietly to myself. I am suddenly pulled out of my reverie by a moment of inspiration. "He has a buried secret. You reap what you sow!" At that, I almost run back to my office. A short while later and me, my partner and a handful of uniformed officers are searching Winsdale's house. "Search the garden!" I tell them. Sure enough, there behind his shed was a gun buried in the dirt. CSU carefully bagged it and took it back to the lab.

...

The sun was beginning to set by the time we got back to the station. I decided to pay another visit to Mr Windsdale. "Well, we meet again Mr Winsdale." I say to him. He looks at me, exhausted. "You look like hell!"

"Didn't sleep too good. I need to get outta here."

"And I need a million dollars, but we seldom get everything we want! But if you tell me what I want to hear, maybe we could cut a deal?"

"What kind of deal? What do you wanna know?"

"You tell us why you killed David Garner and maybe I could persuade them to take the death penalty off the table?"

"Death penalty! I didn't kill David, I didn't kill anyone!"

"Then why is it that we found a gun buried in your backyard, your fingerprints all over it? The same kind of gun that shot Garner?" I could feel my patience waning.

"Okay, okay, look, a couple of weeks ago I went home and found this gun in my gym bag. I freaked okay! I didn't know how it got in there but it isn't mine! The only thing that I wanted to do was get rid of it, so I buried it."

I smirk at that. "How stupid do you think I am?" I tell him.

"Look you gotta believe me; someone's trying to put this on me. I don't know why but I had nothing to do with David's death. God, he was my best friend!"

I was about to fire off another round of questions when my partner opens the door and says "Scotty, phone call for you. Says it's urgent and he needs to speak to you right now. Won't take no for an answer! I can take this from here."I nod and leave the room and head for my desk.

When I get there, I pick up the phone. "Valens."

"Detective, if you know what's good for you you'll keep your distance from Miss Rush!"

"What? Who is this?" I demand.

"Stay away from her! She's mine!" he then hangs up the phone, leaving me speechless. Suddenly I am filled with a sense of dread. Miss Rush could be in danger!

I race out of the station and drive as fast as I could to the bar. Once I get there, I ask Jeffries where she is. "She left here about ten minutes ago. Think she went home."

"Thanks," I tell him and then hurry back to my car and start driving again.

...

It's a half hour drive from Jones' Tavern to her apartment. I drive as fast as I could but I hit traffic about five minutes in. I curse under my breath and turn on the sirens. Suddenly I'm making progress again. I finally hit a stretch of open road and hit the accelerator harder. I could feel the adrenaline course through me. It was only then that I start to feel that something wasn't right. I look in the rear view mirror and notice that someone's following me. It was same car from the other night. It had to be Vera. With one hand, I reach for my gun just in case he decides to start shooting again. He does. The first shot is nowhere near my car but the second shot hits the left wing mirror. When I get the chance, I roll down the window and fire off a couple of shots in his direction. I don't think I did much damage though, as the bastard's still chasing me. I quickly pull myself back inside the car as he fires of a few more bullets, but now there's something very wrong. I'm having trouble keeping control of the car. He must have got my tyres. I feel a surge of anger grow within me as I return the favour. One, two, three bullets are fired from my gun and two of them hit home. He begins to lose control of his vehicle and I can see him swerve off the road. I take silent pleasure in my victory but this is quickly replaced by a searing pain in my shoulder. I take a look and am shocked to see my own blood seeping through my shoulder. "Shit!" I curse but keep driving as fast as I could. I was only a couple of minutes from her place, I had to keep going. I finally reach Miss Rush's apartment and I see her outside talking to someone. I stagger out of the car and walk towards her. "Miss Rush!" I call but then feel my knees buckle. Then everything goes black.

...

When I wake up I'm lying down on a bed somewhere. I don't recognise the room, but my vision is a little blurry and my memory hasn't fully recovered. The last thing I remember was…driving, really fast. Then calling out to Miss Rush, she was in danger. "Miss Rush!" I shout, at least, I mean to shout but my voice comes out more as a hoarse whisper. I cough and suddenly there's a throbbing pain in my shoulder. I try to sit up but I can't even manage to get halfway there, as my arms give way and I fall back down again.

"Shhh you shouldn't try to sit up, you've lost a quite a bit of blood." An angelic voice says. I blink and when my vision clears, I see her. Miss Rush is sitting beside me on the bed. I can feel her soft hand on my face and for a nanosecond I think I may have died and gone to heaven.

"How did I get here?" I ask her as I notice the dressing on my shoulder.

"My neighbour helped me carry you here. It's a good thing I was talking to him when you arrived."

It was starting to come back to me now. The phone call, the case, me being shot in the shoulder. "We have to get outta here, you could be in danger. I think someone is trying to hurt you." I tell her, as my voice starts to return to normal.

She laughs a little at that. "I think you have that backwards Detective!" She says and then points to my shoulder.

I finally manage to pull myself up into a sitting position. "Miss Rush, I have good reason to believe that your life may be in danger. We have to get you someplace safe." She pauses and looks at me for a few seconds, as if she's considering something.

"What?" I ask.

"Nothing," she smiles, "you just seem determined to be my knight in shining armour!"

"That's my job, I'm a cop. It's what I do." I tell her.

She bites her bottom lip and smiles again and I can feel my pulse rising. "If you say so Detective." She gets off the bed and walks out of the room. She then returns soon after, holding a glass of water. "Here, drink this." She says, and I do. She sits down again and now it's my turn to look at _her. _

"What do you know about this PI, Nick Vera?" I ask.

"Nothing, why?"

"He lost his licence a few years back. I was wondering if this is a personal vendetta against you? Ex-boyfriend or something?" I say in a joking tone but I was only half-joking.

"No, I don't know anyone by that name." She tells me and she sounds sincere.

I paused for a minute before saying, "Miss Rush, I have to tell you, we found the gun that killed David Garner today. It was buried in Windsdale's apartment, with his fingerprints all over it."

She took in a stunned breath and I could see her eyes widen in surprise. "No...there has to be some mistake! James didn't kill him. He wouldn't...he _couldn't_!"

"He gave me some lame excuse about how someone is trying to set him up but..."

"That must be it!" she interrupts me, then looks me in the eye and holds my hand tightly, "Detective, when James was working for Stilman, he must have made a lot of enemies, he and his friend David. It could be one of them?" she paused and then said, "or maybe it's this private investigator that's trying to set him up?"

I thought about that for a while. Given the reasons behind him losing his licence it may have been possible. Could Vera have murdered David Garner? Maybe that's why he was trying to kill us. Perhaps he was trying to stop me from learning the truth. My head began to pound again. I look at her and could see the sadness in her eyes. "You really care about him, don't you?"

"Yes." She whispered, "He's been my friend for so long."

"Just a friend?" I ask.

"I told you before Detective, we aren't a couple."

"That's not what he seems to think, told me you were his girl."

She pauses, "we would...get together sometimes, when he feels lonely. He's been through so much. He just needs someone to be there for him."

"And what about you?" I ask her and she looks up at me. "What about when you feel lonely?" I'm speaking much more softly now.

She holds my gaze and I can feel shivers down my spine as our eyes lock. "Why are you so concerned about my love life, Detective?" she teases.

"Oh, just doing my job, making sure I get all the facts." I'm teasing her back and the rational part of my brain is screaming things at me, but at that moment, all I could think of was how much I hated Windsdale for using her like that. I also notice she is still holding my hand.

She smiles and tilts her head slightly, "you're very through Detective."

I lean forward a little and whisper, "oh, you have no idea Miss Rush."

"Just do me one favour, call me Lil? Everyone else does."

"Lil," I love the way her name feels when I say it.

"What are you called Detective?"

"My name's Scott, but everyone calls me Scotty." I tell her. Her smiles widens and it takes all the strength I have not to reach out and touch her face. There was no use in denying it any longer. I was falling for her. And for the first time in years, I don't want to fight these feelings.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, I hope you like this one too. Sorry it's taken longer than usual to put this one up, but life's been a little crazy lately.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case.**

Lil and I talked for a couple of hours after that. I only realised how late it was when I looked up at the clock on her wall. I hadn't meant for that to happen but I guess I just lost track of time. There was just something about her. "It's getting late, I should go." I tell her as I slowly try to get off the bed.

"Are you crazy? You can't drive like that!" she tells me, referring to my shoulder wound.

She has a point. "I'll call a cab. Could you pass me my cell? It's in the pocket of my jacket. "

She gets off the bed and retrieves my phone. She walks back over to me but just as she is about to hand it to me; she pulls her hand back and smiles. "Maybe we should go to the hospital?"

"I'm fine Lil." I reassure her, hell, it wasn't the first time I'd been shot.

"Scotty," her voice is drenched with concern. "You need to get a doctor to take a look at that."

"In the morning," I tell her. "Right now I need to get back to the station and check on something."

"You are _not_ going back to the station!"

"Lil…" I began but she cut me off.

"You need to rest."

I looked up into her blue eyes, "Give me my phone." I ask her, holding out my hand. She takes two steps back and shakes her head. I couldn't believe this was happening. "Lil, give me my phone please." I struggle to get off the bed and take a step towards her.

"No Scotty. Not until you promise to get some rest tonight."

I should have been mad at her but the expression on her face just melted the anger away. It was a mixture of concern and teasing. She was driving me crazy. "Okay, I promise to get some rest." I lied, and she could tell.

"I don't believe you." She takes a few more steps backwards and I reciprocate by taking a few more steps forward. "Damn it Lil, give me my phone!" I had meant to sound serious but the pain in my shoulder made my voice sound a lot less authoritative, and judging by her laughter she didn't miss this. I continue to walk towards her and she matches my pace as she walks backwards until she was against a wall.

"Now," I began, pleased that she had nowhere to run, "my phone." I hold out my hand once again but she hides it behind her back. "Lil!"

She giggles and her eyes light up. "I have an idea, why don't you stay here tonight? That way you can get some rest and I can keep an eye on you."

I blink, surprised at the suggestion. "Keep an eye on me?" She nods and bites her bottom lip again as she smiles. "Miss Ru…Lil, I don't need to be kept an eye on. I can take care of myself."

"And working yourself to death after some maniac tries to kill you - is that how you take care of yourself _Detective Valens_?" Her voice, although mocking, was warm and silky and the way she whispered my name…for the second time that evening I could feel my resolve slipping.

"Lil," I said, my voice now softer to match hers. "I have to go." I take a step back.

"Stay, tonight. You got hurt trying to protect me, let me help you now. Please."

"That maniac is probably out to get you. I need to stop him."

"Then don't you think it would make sense to stay here with me, in case he decides to come back? You can be my knight in shining armour again."

The professional cop inside me told me I should leave now but as I look into her eyes and all my logical arguments fall flat against her seductive reasoning I give in and nod.

"Good. But first I'm taking you to the hospital. No arguments Scotty."

...

We were at the hospital for a few hours but fortunately, the doctor said that I had been extremely lucky and that the bullet had just damaged the muscle in my upper arm and no major blood vessels were hit, or bones broken for that matter. I must have a guardian angel watching over me. They gave me some stitches but other than that, I was okay. He also congratulated Lilly on treating my wound beforehand.

It was around 1am when we got back to her place. I was grateful to her for taking me to the hospital but I still had an uneasy feeling about spending the night there, even though I would be sleeping on the couch. Technically, she wasn't a suspect but if someone was trying to kill her, I knew it would be best not to get too close.

She gives me a pillow and a blanket and then says goodnight before going to sleep in her bedroom. I try to close my eyes and sleep but I lay awake for what felt like an hour. My mind just wouldn't slow down. Eventually I decide to forget about sleep for a while and concentrate on this case. I grab a notepad and pen from the inside pocket of my jacket and start to write things down. I keep thinking about that call at the station. He told me to stay away from Lilly. Who the hell was he anyway? And what did he mean when he said that she was his? Could he have been calling on Windsdale's behalf? I had noticed the possessive look on his face when he spoke about Lilly. He said she was his girl, even thought she had told me herself that they weren't together. The weasel was only using her. I could feel the anger rising up inside me at this thought, along with a tinge of jealousy, which I fought back. _Focus Valens!_ I tell myself.

It suddenly occurrs to me that maybe it was Windsdale who had hired the PI to come after me. I was trying to put him away for the murder of David Garner and maybe this was his idea of vengeance? That whole story he gave me about finding the gun in his gym bag...it just wasn't sitting right with me. I get up and pace around, thinking about this for a few minutes. Where would Windsdale get the money to afford a PI? I stop pacing and take a look around, only just noticing how nicely decorated and furnished Lilly's apartment is. There seemed to be a decent amount of quality furniture and expensive looking wooden floors. How could she afford this place on a barmaid's salary?

A sickening thought pops into my mind then. Windsdale had said that he had stopped working for Stilman but what if he was lying? No one just stops working for a guy like Stilman. What if he was still working for him on the sly, and paying for this apartment in exchange for Lilly's...companionship? That would also account for how he had the money to hire that private investigator.

I was back at Central the following morning. After a lot of concerned looks and comments from my colleagues, I was sitting at my desk with a strong cup of coffee. I didn't get a lot of sleep last night, my suspicions about Lilly and Windsdale kept me up. I got to wondering why this particular PI was interested in this case, and if Windsdale had indeed hired him, I wanted to find out why he would hire him and not someone who hadn't lost their license. Was there a personal connection between him and this Nick Vera? A source of mine had informed me that he saw Vera going into the building where his old office used to be so I decided that it was now time to pay this guy a visit.

We pull up just a few yards from Vera's office. My partner and I then enter through the main door of the building and walk down a long corridor until we arrive at his office. We both have our guns drawn - just in case. I'm about to knock on the door when I hear someone talking inside. I press my ear to the door to hear better. It sounds like an argument but I can't hear anyone else's voice. He must be on the phone. I can make out bits of what is being said. "It won't happen again...I understand..." I figured he was probably apologising for not getting me killed in that little car chase yesterday. I let out a small, satisfied smirk at that. I decide I had waited long enough, and I knock on the door.

"Nick Vera, this is Philly PD, could you please open the door?" The conversation seems to stop abruptly and there's silence. Nothing happens. "We know you're in there." I wait a little longer then I nod to my partner who then kicks the door in. A few seconds later, we are confronted with a guy who's pointing a gun at us. "Put the gun down Vera, we only want to talk."

He stares daggers at me. "You!" He says and now points the gun more in my direction.

"Vera, we don't want any trouble here, just drop the weapon."

"All that effort I spent trying to follow you!" He then smirks at me, "turns out all I needed to do was wait here for you to come to me!"

While his attention was on me, my partner sees his chance and tackles him, sending Vera's gun crashing to the floor. Vera throws him a punch to the stomach and then stands up. I grab Vera's arm and bend it backwards, doing my best to ignore the white-hot pain from my earlier injury. I realise then, that this guy is stronger and faster than he looks, because he quickly turns around in my grip and the punch he gives to my jaw sends me reeling a few steps backwards. My partner, who has now recovered from the earlier blow to the gut, finally manages to restrain and cuff him. "Nick Vera," I tell him, "You're under arrest for assaulting and the attempted murder of a police officer." I then proceed to read him his rights as we escort him to the car.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: To all those who reviewed the last chapter, thank you so much. Knowing you like this story has helped me work through my writer's block. You guys are awesome as always! :-) So here's the next chapter.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

We brought Vera in for questioning. I stood on the other side of the two way mirror, as I always did before an interrogation, checking for weaknesses. It was becoming very clear to me that this guy had a weakness for booze. It was barely 9 o'clock and I could tell he had been drinking. I grab the case file and head into the room. As soon as I enter, he stares up at me, there's something about his expression, it wasn't anger or disgust, as I often get with suspects. It felt more like he was sizing me up. He doesn't break eye contact until my partner walks in and we begin the interrogation.

"Quite a reputation you've made for yourself!" I begin,"disorderly conduct, breaking and entering, reckless endangerment –and that was all before you lost your PI license!"

"You've been reading up on me. I'm touched." Was his cocky reply.

I choose to ignore this and carry on."Yet, somehow, you always seem to get away with it! The charges never stuck?" He smirks at that. I was really beginning to dislike this guy."Why is that?"

He crosses his arms behind his head and leans back in the chair, "what can I say? It's good to have friends in high places!"

His smugness is starting to get to me and all I want to do is wipe that look of his face. But instead I compose myself and continue. "Talk more about that," I tell him, "just who are these friends? Is James Windsdale one of them?"

"Never heard of him." He says. I then put a picture of Windsdale on the table in front of him.

"This refresh your memory?"

He looks at the picture but shakes his head. "Nope. Don't know him."

"Look, you're in a lot of trouble here, so you better start talkin'.!"

"I told you. I don't know him."

"Why were you trying to kill me?" I ask. He goes quiet. "Who hired you?"

"Hired me?" His expression changes from smug to amused. "Haven't you heard, I lost my license?"

"I think you're back in business. Off the records. As far as I can see, you don't have any personal connection to either I or Miss Rush, so someone who does must have hired you. Was it Windsdale?"

My partner adds, "If you talk it will make things a lot easier on you. That felony you're charged with– attempted murder of a police officer, could see you go down for a _very _long time. And this time, we _will _make the charges stick."

"Oh, I very much doubt that!"The smugness had come back to his face and I feel the irritation within me build again.

I slam the case file onto the table. I can see my partner watching us cautiously. "You better watch that temper of yours detective, it could get you into a lot of trouble one day!"

"You son of bitch!" That comment set me off and just as I lean forward to grab his shirt, my partner intervenes.

"Scotty, why don't you go take a walk huh? Cool off a little."

I straighten up, my fists clenched at my side and then I reluctantly exit the room.

…...

I storm out of the bullpen and take the elevator to the ground floor, then I walk out of the building, in need of some fresh air. Once outside, I take a deep breath as I begin to walk around a little. I have some time to think to myself, but I find myself thinking about her. About that night in the motel. About her lying on the couch, asleep while I watched over her. She looked so peaceful, and beautiful too. I remember letting myself get taken in by her presence and fighting the urge to put a blanket around her and gently brushing her hair out of her face. It had been a while before I had fallen asleep that night. I was too hyped up on the adrenaline from nearly catching a potential killer and also by Lilly's enchanting beauty.

I have to admit, it has been a while since I'd last felt this way about anyone, I guess my heart had grown apathetic since the day the greatest love of my life was taken from me. I shake those thoughts from my mind. It had taken me years to get over her and I wasn't about to go down that road again. I think about Lilly again, still not knowing what it is about her that has managed to stir up these feelings in me once more. All I know is that I need to keep her safe, no matter what.

…

I finally feel myself begin to calm down so I walk back inside towards elevator, which I take back up again. I then walk towards the observation room, just as I see my partner walking out of interrogation. He motions for me to follow him into observation, which I do. "Did you get anything out of him?" I ask.

"He's a smug son of a bitch. Thinks he's got the whole department in his pocket. He won't talk to me. Says he wants to speak to you again. Alone." He tells me.

I frown a little at that, wondering what he's up to. "Whatever his game is, I'm going to make damn sure he doesn't get away with it this time!" I move towards the door but before I could leave my partner stops me and says "take it easy in there Scotty, if you push too hard he may lawyer up."

I nod and then walk into the interrogation room and resume my line of questioning.

"You're back!" He observes, almost amused as I enter the room and sit down in front of him.

I purposely take a moment to look at the case file in my hand before I reply. When I could see the self satisfied smile begin to fade from his face I respond, but make sure to keep my eyes on the file."My partner says you only want to talk to me? Well, here I am, so talk."

"You don't like me much do you?"

"No," I tell him, finally looking at him. "You seem to think that you're above the law. That the usual rules don't apply to you."

He crosses his arms. "Well, you would know a little about that now…wouldn't you?"

I feel the irritation begin to make it's way to the surface again, "and what the hell is that supposed to mean?" I snap.

"Oh I think you know what I mean Detective!" he then smiles and it takes all the effort I have not to punch him right there.

I stand up, take a quick look behind me towards the two way mirror and then say "who are you workin'for?"

"For instance," he continues, completely ignoring me. "you and Miss Rush…"

I slam my palm down on the table,"what about her?" I ask feeling my blood boil.

"It's not exactly…professional, you know, sleeping with her while you're investigating her!"

I'm taken aback by this."I…I'm not sleeping with her!"

"I saw the two of you go into her apartment together. You spent the night there!"

"I was protecting her!" I could hear my voice begin to rise again.

"Oh really?"

"From you!" I tell him forcefully. "And from whoever hired you!"

He begins to laugh and I find myself taken off guard at that but before I can respond my partner knocks on the mirror from the other side. I exit the room and he is waiting for me outside. He tells me that they have managed to trace the calls made on his phone. The ID of the last caller catches my attention. A smile returns to my face as I walk back in, armed with this new information. I walk over to the table to stand in front of Vera. "Friends in high places huh? You weren't kidding were you?" I can see a flicker of confusion cross his face before it is replaced by that signature smugness.

"What are you talking about?"

"Times up Vera. We got the names off your cell. The last call was made to Stilman."

He didn't bother to deny it. "Stilman's an old friend of mine. We were catching up."

"We heard the conversation you were having before we arrested you. He's the one who hired you isn't he? He's the one who wants Lilly and me dead! Why?" I ask. "You better tell me or I'll make sure they put you away so long you'll never see the light of day again!"

He then suddenly turns serious, looks me in the eye and says, "Not Lilly."

I pause, temporarily lost for words. "What?"

He leans forward, "Like I said, Stilman is a friend of mine, and if he wants to employ my services to protect someone, then that's what I will do."

"Wait. Protect someone? You were hired to protect her? From...me?"I ask, incredulously.

He nods, "He got a call from someone, told him a detective was trying to hurt her. So I follow her and lo and behold, you show up at the bar and you haven't left her side for very long since."

"The bar? You mean Jones' Tavern..." I remember something then. "You were there that night. You were sitting at the bar, had a quite few from the sight of the way you looked."

"Make no mistake, detective. I won't let you harm her!"

"You really are two screws short of a toolbox aren't you? You call shooting at us, trying to protect her? You don't even realise, I'm the one protecting her and keeping her safe." I stop and then ask the question that playing on my mind. "Why is Stilman so interested in Miss Rush's welfare anyway?"

He smirks and then says, "You really don't know do you? She...hasn't told you!"

…...

Vera's revelation has me thrown into a state of mild shock. I find myself driving over to Lilly place, anger pounding in my head, I feel hurt too. Why didn't she tell me? And what else has she been keeping from me? I park the car outside and quickly make my way up to her apartment. I can hear music coming from inside. My hand goes up to the door and I knock, more forcefully than I mean to. My emotions beginning to affect my behaviour. She opens it. "Scotty!" her smile is like the warm light of the sun but this only serves to amplify the hurt I feel inside. "You really can't stay away from me can you?"

I decide to cut straight to the chase, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Her smile fades, "Scotty what are you talking about? Tell you what?"

"You're Stilman's daughter!"


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: This is going to be a Lilly/Scotty centred chapter. I hope you like it, if you do please leave a review. :-) The song that's playing in this chapter is Kissing a Fool by Michael Buble, in case you were wondering. It just seemed appropriate. The song lyrics are in italic.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

The look on her face was all the confirmation I needed. I wait for a few seconds for her to say something, but when she doesn't, I turn around to leave. Then she reaches out and grabs my arm. "Scotty, wait." she says, and I stop. "We can talk about about this but.." she looks around the hallway, "can we do this inside?" I look at her, then nod. She stands aside for me to enter, then once I'm in her apartment she closes the door. "How did you find out?" she asks, more curious than anything.

"Vera. Came up during the interrogation. Why didn't you tell me?" I asked her again.

She looks down at her hands, which where interlocked and resting on her lap. She doesn't answer me right away and I could see she was thinking about how to respond. "I…I didn't want you to pre-judge me." She said.

I smirk a little at that, although the frustration I had felt on the way over had somewhat dissipated, it hadn't vanished completely, and looking at her was doing nothing to help that. All I wanted to do at that moment was find the nearest wall and introduce it to my fist. But I had to know, both for professional and personal reasons. "You mean think of you as a suspect? Cos that's how it's looking right now! Maybe your father wanted Garner out of the way? And you with your pretty blue eyes and beautiful smile were the lure? Maybe you gained his trust and then…"

"Stop! Scotty, for God's sake, please stop!"

I did, and seeing the tears begin to form in her eyes I instantly regret my choice of words.

"Scotty," she began, she managed to keep her voice firm. "I did not kill David Garner, or anyone. I may be Stilman's daughter but I am nothing like him. I didn't tell you because I thought you would jump to that conclusion. Everyone else does. I can't even have any serious relationships because as soon as a guy finds out who my father is, they run, scared." She pauses and I see a small tear trickle slowly down her face. I swallow hard, trying to resist the urge to wipe that tear away. "All but one, that is."

My curiosity begins to grow. She looks at me and then back down at her hands, as if looking me in the eye was too painful. "David Garner. I knew him Scotty."

Anger begins to flair inside me again. "You knew him? So you lied to me about that as well!" I throw my hands up in the air and stand up. "How did you know him? Was he your boyfriend?"

She hesitates again and I don't know whether it's out of consideration to my feelings or something else. The lady was definitely hiding something big, I was sure of it now. In the few seconds of silence before her answer, I once again notice that she has music playing. Never pegged her for a Michael Buble fan, but then it seems like I didn't really know her at all. I turn away from her and begin pacing around.

_You were far, when I could have been your star. You listened to people who scared you to death and from my heart…_

"He was my fiancé."

I stop dead in my tracks and turn around to look at her. I feel my eyes widen in surprise and my mind cloud over for a few seconds. It was now my turn to be silent.

_You'll never find the peace of mind till you listen to your heart. People, they will make a lover feel a fool…_

"What? You were going to marry him? God Lil, why did you keep this from me? Do you know how this looks?"

"Sorry." She whispers.

I walk over to her. "You've got to understand, I'm trying to protect you – and in doing so I've been shot at, nearly run off the road…if you have anything you want to tell me now is the time!"

She inhales deeply. "David and I were in love, we were going to get married."

"And Stilman didn't mind?"

She shakes her head, "he liked David. Gave his blessing."

"Wait a minute, Windsdale told me heard Garner and your father arguing one day, like furniture being thrown around. He said David wasn't prepared to go to the measures Stilman asked him to, to collect the money."

"That's right. David was strong like that. He didn't believe in hurting people. He knew when to draw the line. And he wasn't scared of my father. That's one of the reasons why I fell in love with him."

I sit back down on the couch again as she continued. "One day he came home late and his face was cut. I asked him what happened but all he said was that someone put up a fight when he went to collect the money he owed my father. But I knew he was lying, I always knew. He wasn't very good at hiding his feelings, a bad liar. So I went to confront my father about it." She stops then, as if to gather her thoughts.

"What happened?" I ask, prompting her to continue.

"You've got to understand something Scotty, me and my father, we don't have a very close relationship. He left me and my mother when I was just five. He keeps in touch, sends me stuff and money from time to time. I know he cares about me but….he doesn't know how to be a dad. You know?"

I nod, thinking to myself that this must be how she can afford to live like this. "I understand."

"When I asked him what had happened with David, he told me how he had come into his office to tell him that he wasn't going do what it took to get the money. My father told him that that was the job and that he would not get special treatment just because he was dating me. They got into an argument and my father held a knife to his face and threatened to cut him. David told him to go ahead and do it. He did. He pressed the knife into his cheek, hard enough to draw blood but not very deep. He told me David never wavered. He still refused." She smiles a little then, "My father said that he had a new respect for David that day. Off course I was mad as hell at him for hurting David, but something inside me felt happy that he liked him. I think that was one of the few moments in my life that I felt like he was really being my dad. Like he was looking out for me, wanted me to be with someone he thought was good for me."

"That's how you met Windsdale." I say, though more to myself than to her.

She nods. "He was David's best friend. He took it badly when David died. I cried myself to sleep every night but he became closed off… and just found comfort in a bottle."

"And you, it seems." I say, quietly, trying to hide my resentment.

"We had both suffered a loss. It was about six months before we could really talk about it to each other. I didn't want to get involved with him, so soon after David, but he didn't want a relationship either. Then one night, it just…happened."

I hold out my hand for her to stop, not wanting to picture the details. "I get the idea. That's why he's protective of you."

She smiles, "It seems I have managed to surround myself with men like that. My father, James…..you." She reaches out and touches my arm. But I just can't go there right now. I shake her hand off and stand up again. "So you're saying that neither Stilman or Windsdale had a reason to kill Garner?"

"No! They would not have hurt him. I know they wouldn't. Don't you get it? He may not be the best father in the world but he would never do anything to hurt me!"

"I believe that much. He sent that PI after me. Thought I was trying to hurt you somehow."

"He did?"

"Yeah, Vera told me. Seems someone had tipped your father off to it."

"But…he shot at me too….and that night in the motel, when he broke in through the window?"

"That night he shot at us – he was aiming for me but was too drunk to shoot straight. And then at the motel, he told me that he came in to see if I was there, he wanted to kill me, but saw that it was just you and when he realised that you were okay, he left."

"You believe him?" she asks, now also standing.

"I've read his file - he is…unorthodox in his methods. And I wouldn't put it past Stilman either. It does sound like something he'd do."

"Yes." Lilly agrees, and I could tell it's from experience.

"That means that Windsdale is still the prime suspect."

"No, he wouldn't have done it."

"I'm sorry Lil, but the evidence is pointing to him. We found the gun in his backyard!"

"I don't care. I know he didn't do it. You've got to trust me!"

That set me off.

"Trust you?" I ask her, "Trust you! After you've already lied to me twice?"

"Scotty," she moves towards me and I move towards the door. "Scotty, wait, please."

"No, Lil. You can't seriously expect me to trust you now?"

"Scotty. I'm sorry I kept things from you. I was wrong to do that, I know." I turn the door handle but she grabs my arm and holds on tight. I tense as I feel the warmth of her hand seep through the fabric of my sleeve. I turn around and find she is standing too close to me. "I know I hurt you. I'm sorry." Her eyes were tearing up again.

"What are you talkin' about?" I ask and wonder if I am that transparent?

"You're angry. And upset, I can see it in your eyes." She touches my face as she makes intense eye contact with me. I can feel the temperature of the room increasing. I fight the thoughts swirling around in my mind. "I…I'm angry because you withheld information in an investigation!"

She moves closer and now my heart is beating faster. How does she do this to me? "You're as bad a liar as David was." She says softly and smiles.

"What are you doin'?" I ask as she moves her head closer to me and my vision begins to blur.

"I know you have feelings for me Scotty."

"Li," I begin but she cuts me off, her lips are just millimetres from mine. "Shhh, just let it happen."

Before I could say anything else, she closes the gap between us, her lips on mine. Her warm, sweet, soft lips. I think I lost the power of rational thought then, 'cos the next thing I know, one of my arms had moved round her waist and one behind her head and I was pulling her closer to me. I know this is wrong but I can't help myself. The music swirls around us in the background and the lyrics serve as an appropriate soundtrack to my stupidity. Damn, I must be losing my mind.


	8. Chapter 8

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. This is another Scotty/Lilly centred chapter for you - enjoy! :- )

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

There are two approaches that guide me when I'm working on a case, the rational approach and my instincts. The rational approach allows me to follow the evidence in a calm and logical way, but sometimes I have a gut feeling about something and I go with it, 'cos human intuition is a powerful thing and there are many things that the evidence doesn't tell you. Just as with this case. All the clues so far have been pointing to James Windsdale as the killer. It's true that we found the gun in his back yard, but the guy had twenty odd years to get rid of it, so why didn't he? Also, there was just something about the guy that doesn't scream cold-blooded killer to me. All my detective instincts where telling me that Windsdale was just a red herring and there was a bigger fish out there, waiting to be caught. Yes, sometimes the rational approach isn't the best choice and there are times when you've just got to go with your feelings.

And my feelings were definitely in charge right now. I was in Lilly Rush's apartment with my arms wrapped around her body and our lips locked in a tender kiss.

It all happened so fast. I had gone over there to ask her why she had lied to me and then before I knew what was going on, she kissed me. I knew it was a mistake the moment I kissed her back; I was on duty and this wasn't exactly professional. Not to mention the fact that she had lied to me during the course of an investigation. If my boss found out, I could get into a lot of trouble, especially as she could still be a potential suspect. Thing is, I don't want to stop. I like the way her lips feel on mine and suddenly all I can think of, is what it would be like to make love to her under those satin sheets on her bed. The lady had been on my mind since the moment we met. I knew there was more to her than meets the eye – she had already proven that. Yet here I was. I really didn't know what had gotten into me.

Things were beginning to get heated when we finally broke apart for air. I could see the lust in those beautiful blue eyes of hers and I realise then, that my eyes must be singing the same song. Without thinking, I scoop her up into my arms, walk towards the couch and I lay her down onto the cushions. She smiles and puts her arms around my neck and we begin kissing again. That is, until my cell phone rings. I reluctantly let her go as I begin to search my pockets but I can't find it. Then I see a flash of silver in the corner of my eye – the phone has slipped out of my pocket and onto the couch. I reach for it but Lilly gets there first. She picks it up, still lying down, and reads the caller ID. "Detective Black calling." She says.

"That's my partner," I tell her and then attempt to grab the phone from her but she doesn't let me get it. Not this again. It seems like she is determined to make me look as unprofessional as possible. "Lil, it could be important!"

"Hmm," she pretends that she's thinking about it and then brings the phone back to my hands but before I could take it, she once again wraps her arms around my neck and pulls me back on top of her and into another quick kiss. Then, without letting me go, she presses 'answer' on the phone before it goes to voicemail.

Her arms still around my neck but with the phone now near my ear I answer, "Valens," I say and listen to the update my partner was giving me on the case. All the while Lilly is making eyes at me and rubbing her foot against my leg. I fight to keep my voice level but my breathing is still a little heavy, and naturally, my partner picks up on it. "Yeah, I'm okay, just had to take the stairs, the elevator's broken." I lie and Lilly giggles. I frown disapprovingly at her and she bites her lip to stop. "Are you sure? Are they absolutely certain about that?" I asked my partner. "I see….okay. " I look at Lilly and she knows that something is up. The playful mood soon evaporates between us and she lets me go and I sit up. "What the hell? When did this happen? Okay I'll be there in a little while. Thanks." I then hang up.

"Was that about David's case?" she asks and I look at her.

"Yeah." I tell her, and I could tell she could see that it wasn't good news.

"What is it Scotty?" she asks, concerned.

"The serial number on the gun had been filed off but whoever did it didn't do a thorough job. CSU managed to trace it back to its owner. It belongs to your father!"

Lilly's eyes widen and her whole face just turns pale. "No…no that can't be right." She looks at me, "they've made a mistake Scotty, he would never….no!" She stands up and walks towards the window. "My father wouldn't have killed him."

I walk over to her and say softly, "Lil, you said yourself; he held a knife to his face, cut him to draw blood."

She turns around sharply and I'm forced to take a step back. "That was different! He was just testing him; he had no intention of really doing any harm."

"I'm not so sure…."

"Scotty," she stops me mid-sentence and looks me squarely in the eyes, her own now burning with intense conviction, "I know he wouldn't have killed him. He may be a dangerous man but he's still my father, he wouldn't do anything to hurt me!"

"That's exactly what I'm afraid off, Lil, he _is _your father. Maybe you've been a little blinded by that?"

"Scotty, I like you, and I know you like me too, but don't you dare think for one minute that you know me! That you know how I feel or what I'm thinking!"

I gotta say, I hadn't seen this coming.

"I _know _what kind of man my father is! The lengths he would go to, to get what he wants and the trouble he would get into! How do you think I learned to take care of gunshot wounds so well?" she throws her hands in the air, "Hell, I was the only one who cared enough to take care of him, when he got hurt."

"I thought you said you two didn't have a close relationship?" I ask, a little confused.

"I said he didn't know how to be a father. But I was still his daughter. I still cared." Her eyes were tearing up again and a single tear escaped those blue orbs, which were now portals to her soul. I could see the pain that lay beneath.

I put my hands gently on her shoulders. "Lil, I'm sorry."

She shrugs my hands off and says, "Don't! Don't pity me Scotty! I…I think you should go now!"

"Lil, I…"

"Just go Scotty!" that last bit was softer; I think the possibility that her father could be the killer was beginning to hit her. I look into her eyes one last time and then I walk towards the door. I turn the handle and open it. I could hear her start to cry softly behind me. I turn around to try to comfort her again when I feel something hard hit me in the back. The handle has moved out of my grasp and the door has now flown open behind me. Lilly's tear soaked face now has a startled expression. I turn around and there he is.

"Nick Vera!"

"Detective Valens!" He says as he points a gun at me. "Stilman says hi."


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: I know it's been a while since I lasted posted. I'm really sorry to keep you all waiting for so long but life coupled with a severe writer's block had hindered the completion of this chapter. I wanted to say a massive thank you to everyone who reviewed. Your thoughts are really appreciated.

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

Being a detective, I'm used to getting into my fair share of trouble. I've been beaten up, punched, shot at, manipulated and lie to, but never has all those things happened to me in the space of two days. Usually, working these cold jobs, the emotions have dulled a little over time, but then again, this wasn't turning out to be your typical cold case. Take now, for instance, I'm standing in the middle of a woman's apartment, while the PI who was hired to kill me, hired by said woman's father, is pointing a gun at me. It didn't help that her father was a crime lord and I was beginning to fall in love with his daughter. Talk about a tangled web! I was starting to get the feeling that I was in over my head here.

"Scotty!" I heard Lilly cry from somewhere behind me.

"It's okay Lil, just stay calm. Let's just all stay calm." I aim that last bit at Vera while slowly raising my hands in the air.

"How...I thought you said you had him in custody?" She asks me and Vera smiles.

"Oh he did Miss Rush!" he tells her.

"They let him go!" I add, trying, but only partially succeeding in keeping the contempt out of my voice.

"Why? He tried to kill you?"

"They had to - the commissioner himself gave the order." I inform her, relaying what my partner had told me a little while ago on the phone. I look Vera in the eyes, "So what, you've come to finish what you started?"

"Consider this your lucky day Valens. Stilman knows about your relationship with his daughter here and he wants to...meet you, have a little _chat_ in person."

"There's nothing going on between me and Miss Rush!"I tell him. It's a lie, but I'm surprised at how convincing I sound.

Vera walks into the apartment and towards her stereo where a Michael Bublé album is still playing. "No?" he asks, switching the music off. "Seems like things were getting pretty cosy here!" He looks at Lilly's dishevelled hair and the way my shirt is half out of my pants. A brief amused expression crosses his face before he points the gun at both of us, "Okay you two, out the door - now!" Vera says, aiming the gun at us and gesturing for us to walk out of the apartment.

"Where are we going?" Lilly asks. I could see that she was tying to sound calm but there was a hint of nerves in her voice. He proceeds to lead us out of the apartment and to a car parked outside. He hold s the gun close to my back, I guess it was to make sure that Lilly didn't do anything like call for help.

Once we get into the car, and Vera makes sure that we each had one hand cuffed to the car door. He then starts the car and begins to drive. We drive around for what feels like half an hour. About five minutes into the ride, Lilly's hand finds mine and she squeezes it tightly. It's the only indication she gives me that she's scared. Neither of us says anything the whole time. I have to admit, I was intrigued by all of this. Stilman had supposedly wanted me dead and now it seems that he had changed his mind. I wondered what would ultimately happen once we got to wherever the hell it was we were going.

He finally stops the car and makes us get out. Once we are standing, he cuffs my hands behind my back and keeps the gun trained on Lilly. I look around - we were clear across town and outside what appeared to be a jazz lounge. The place looks pretty classy. I look over to Lilly and she smiles, "This is my father's place. He owns it." If he wants to meet you here then it's a good sign. He usually..." she pauses, "does his killing somewhere..less public."

"Unless he has as nice, quiet basement in there he could use!" I tell her but I'm only half-joking.

"Inside!" Vera orders us and we begin to walk again. The swirling melody of smooth jazz hit us immediately as we enter the club. The entranceway is brightly lit but as we approach the main lounge area the lighting becomes more corridor opens up into the main lounge itself. The music grows louder the further we walk until I can see a live band on the stage. There' s a guy at the piano and a saxophonist playing the blues. I could really relax in a place like this - if it weren't for the fact that my hands were cuffed and I was about to meet a Philly crime lord for God knows what purpose!

Vera takes us to a group of three men who are sitting in expensive and very comfortable looking velvet chairs with their backs to us. As we walk around to face them I immediately recognise the one in the middle. "Hi John." Vera greets as casually as you would greet a close friend. Damn! Maybe Vera was telling the truth after all.

Stilman stops his conversation with the other two gentlemen and looks up at us, a glass of Scotch in his hand. He doesn't say anything for a few seconds, he just looks at me, as if wondering whether to talk to me or shoot me where I stand. His expression quickly turns to one of disdain and I'm thinking that he's going to opt for the latter. Lilly must have read my mind because she says, "Is it true? Have you really hired this man to kill detective Valens?"

I am a little taken back by her tone as she addresses him. Sure, he is her father, but he is also one of the most notorious crime lords in this part of Philly. Stilman's eyes now drift towards his daughter, he smiles a little bit but it is more of a cunning smile than one of fatherly love. "Lilly, why don't you and mister Martinez go get a drink. I want to talk to the good detective, alone." He says, referring to the gentleman sitting on his right, who then flashes her a charming smile, gets up from his chair and motions for her to follow him to the bar.

"He hasn't hurt me!" she protests.

"Lilly!" Stilman's tone is laced with warning but Lilly gives as good as she gets.

"Promise me!" her tone matching his blow for blow. If there was any doubt in my mind that she was Stilman's daughter, it was laid to rest right there.

The strangest thing happens then, for a second I think I see what could almost be concern flash across his face, but it is gone almost as soon as it appears. "This man is trying to kill you!" he sounds angry.

"No, you've got it wrong!" She insists, "He's trying to solve David's murder!"

Stilman then flashes Lilly a knowing smile and then gestures to mister Martinez to escort her to the bar. I could tell she's pissed, but she goes with him regardless, giving her father a 'this is not over' look as she does.

As soon as she is out of earshot he once again turns his attentions to me. "Mister Vera, would you please take the good detective to the back room? I'll join you shortly."

Vera nods once and then grabs my arms and takes me towards the back of the club. We reach a door and he opens it and gestures for me to enter, I walk in and he guides me to a table with two chairs. "Take a seat." he says and then gives me that now all too familiar smirk of his.

"You gonna un-cuff me first?" I ask.

He sighs and then proceeds to take the cuffs off my hands. I rub at my sore wrists and then sit into one of the chairs. He then turns and heads out the door. I hear the click of a lock on the other side. As soon as he's gone I take out my cell phone to try and call for backup but then notice that there's no reception. This room must be lined with lead or something. I look at the time on my phone and notice that it has just passed six o'clock. As I'm putting my phone back into my pocket I hear the click of the lock on the other side of the door again and then in walks Stilman. He eyes me up for a few seconds before saying, "So you're the detective I've been hearing about... I thought you'd be older."

I decide there are two possible ways I could play this - do the smart-mouth routine and probably get myself shot or turn on the charm. I opt for the latter. "And you're the infamous John Stilman! Lilly's father, no less. It's nice to finally meet you."

Okay, I know that wasn't exactly my charm at it's best, but it was the best I could manage at that moment.

"So, she's told you about that has she?" his face takes on a pensive look.

"Actually, it was mister Vera who told me. Interesting choice of hitman you have there. Not exactly your style though is he? I would have thought you'd have gone with the strong, silent and deadly type."

He laughs a little at that, and then I suddenly get the feeling that he's assessing me. "Very good detective! I admire a man who can remain cool when his life is on the line."

"Is it?" I ask.

"Well now, that remains to be seen." He takes out his gun, takes the safety off and aims it at my face. "What is your relationship with my daughter?"

I freeze in the chair, my mind frantically trying to think of what to tell him that wouldn't prompt him to pull that trigger. I swallow and then say…..

**Oooh! What will Scotty tell him? And just what is Stilman up to? Well, I hope you like it. Please let me know what you thought and I promise to have the next chapter up in about a week's time. :-)**


	10. Chapter 10

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, and thanks for sticking with this story. Here's chapter 10 :-)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

"I'm not trying to kill or harm your daughter in any way!"

How do I get myself into these situations? Here I am sitting in the back room of the jazz lounge owned by notorious Philly crime lord, John Stilman, who is pointing a gun at my face.

"I don't believe you! You have been stalking her, following her to her apartment. Mister Vera informs me that before he brought you here he found the two of you in a partial state of undress, and Lilly was crying!" I could see a murderous glint in his eyes as he moves closer, then he asks me, his voice low and threatening; "Were you trying to rape my daughter?"

I'm genuinely taken back by that question. The thought of harming that perfect angel in any way makes me feel sick to the core. I fight back the nausea and reply, "Absolutely not! I'm a cop!"

He scoffs at that and says, "And we all know cops don't do anything illegal!"

"I wouldn't do that! I would never do anything to hurt Lilly! I…." I hesitate, carefully considering what I say next. He raises an eyebrow at me, "You what?" he says slowly, calculatingly.

"I was trying to protect her from that maniac you sent after us! I thought he was trying to kill her!"

"That doesn't explain what Vera told me. Why was my daughter crying?"

I swallow again. This must be what a mouse feels like just before the cat gets him. "We found the gun David was killed with. We traced it back to you. Lilly didn't believe that you would have killed him and she became upset."

I could see the anger in his face subside a fraction. "Gun?" he says, now curious. "What gun?"

"The one you planted in James Windsdale's gym bag!" I can feel my bravado coming back until he laughs in my face.

"Windsdale?" he says as though it's the most ridiculous thing he's ever heard. "Are you suggesting that I framed him for the murder of Garner - my future son-in-law?"

I begin to feel as if I've been thrown off kilter but fortunately my detective mask remains firmly in place. "That exactly what I'm suggesting." A voice in the back of my head keeps screaming at me to shut the hell up; I'm unarmed, I've got no back up and no one knows I'm here, but now that I've started I can't stop.

"I could kill you right now for that, you know." He says and my eyes quickly dart to his trigger finger. "I could pull this trigger right now and end your life." I swallow and feel a bead of sweat begin to make its way down the side of my face and my heart starts beating like it's trying to escape from my chest. "This is a soundproof room, no one will even hear the shot!"

"You realise that shootin' a cop'll see you go down for a long time." Oh God, someone please tape my mouth shut!

"And how will they find out that it was me?" he moves closer to me and his whole demeanor now has an air of arrogance and smugness about it. "Mister Vera was trying to kill you - I'm told you even had a confession...and yet, he was released. Now, tell me, why was that?"

I look into his eyes and I know now that I'm staring at a wolf. This guy was slick, cold as ice. Thought he had the whole world in his pocket. I swallow the growing resentment I feel inside and say, "There was an order from the commissioner. He insisted we release him at once."

Stilman pulls back a little then, nods and smiles. "You see the flaw in your reasoning detective, had I wanted David Garner dead, there would be no way you would have anything to pin the crime on me. I would have no need to frame someone in such an amateur fashion."

"Then how do you explain the fact that the gun was registered to you?"

He thinks for a few seconds and then says, "I did give David a gun, for protection. I can tell you exactly which gun it was as well."

I raise my eyebrows at that and he notices.

"In my business I've found you have to account for things like that."

"And just what business is that?"

He smiles, "Being a club owner, off course."

I smirk at that.

"You have a lot of audacity for a man who's about to die!"

"If I am about to die, then I've got nothing to lose."

"Nothing?" he sounds surprised. "nothing at all? No one to miss you when you're gone? No one who will stand beside your grave, crying and asking God why such a thing has happened?"

I found myself quickly becoming irritated at his taunting. "What do you want Stilman?" I ask.

"Answer the question detective."

"If you're gonna kill me why don't you just get it over with?"

"Answer the question!" he insists.

I look into his angry eyes and I realise exactly what he is asking me. He knows. Off course he knows. He's her father. "Yes." I reply.

"Yes, what?" he demands and I fear that the hourglass is fast running out of sand for me. I look down at my hands, unable to maintain eye contact with him any longer. He's forcing me to admit to things I haven't fully accepted myself. "Yes, there is someone. Someone who'll miss me." I wait for him to ask me who it is but when he doesn't say anything I continue. "Your daughter, Lilly."

He lowers the gun and I chance a look at his face. His expression is hard to read but at least he doesn't look angry anymore. "What is your real interest in my daughter detective?"

"What I told you about wanting to help protect her, it was true. And she deserves justice. She needs to be able to sleep at night knowing that her fiancé's killer is locked up. And she deserves a friend. Someone who'll look out for her and be there for her. She's been through so much."

"Ah, I see. You want to be her friend." His tone is somewhat patronizing.

"Yes." I tell him.

"Tell me detective, do you always treat your friends in such a passionate way?"

Okay, I have clearly been found out here, so I decide there's no point in pretending anymore. "I care about her. She's an incredible woman."

This seems to be what he was waiting to hear, because the next thing I know he has put the safety back on his gun and smiles at me, though not a friendly smile, but a knowing smile.

"I can see why she likes you detective. Lilly has always been an excellent judge of character. I believe you."

I let out a long breath, as sheer relief floods through my body. "I will help you in your investigation."

I blink my eyes at that last comment, feeling as if I had fallen into a dream. Was the notorious John Stilman offering to help the police? Maybe I was dead after all? I all but laugh when I ask him, "Did I just hear you right? You want to help us?"

"David was like a son to me; whoever killed him took someone important from me and they will have to pay for that!"

I realise he means to kill this person himself. I stand up and face him, "When we find the killer, _I_ will take him into custody."

"We'll see about that."

"I'm not letting you kill him."

He looks me in the eyes, "Have you ever lost someone detective Valens?"

I hesitate, remembering my own tragedy of only a few years ago. "Yes." I say but it comes out so quietly that it sounds like I'm whispering.

"Then you know how it feels."

"You're talking about committing murder!"

"I am not an evil man, detective, in spite of what you or others may think of me. I care deeply about my family, and I will not tolerate anyone causing them harm!"

Another smirk escapes from me before I have the chance to stop it. I know I should just quit while I'm ahead but there is a part of me that just has to keep poking the bear. "You say you care for your family, then why did you abandon Lilly when she was just a child?"

"That was for her own good!" He raises his voice now. "Do you think that this is any life for a child? I sent her and her mother away to protect her from this."

I nod in understanding, but decide against any further provocation. "You said you can tell me which gun you gave to David?"

His face reverts back to a state of composure. "Yes, I'll have mister Robertson take you through the records."

He turns and leads me to the door. He opens it and walks out of the room, I follow. In a few seconds we are once again back in the main lounge area. Stilman walks towards the group of chairs he was sitting in when I first came in. The other gentleman, whom I presumed was mister Robertson, was now accompanied by Martinez and Lilly, both of whom had a drink in their hands. Vera was nowhere to be seen. "Please detective, take a seat."

I hesitate, "Thanks, but I really have to get back to this case." I tell him.

"You are a guest here in my little establishment, you have time for a drink." He calls over waiter, "Get the good detective here a glass of our finest scotch."

The waiter nods and walks towards the bar. I can see Lilly smile and raise her eyebrows as if some secrets exchange had just taken place between her and her father. Just then the music tempo changes and the haunting opening notes of the piano fill the room. I turn towards the stage. There is now a woman standing at the lone microphone. She is wearing a sexy dark blue, strapless cocktail dress and she sings:

_When I hear that serenade...in blue…_

I smile and take a sip of the scotch that the waiter has just brought over to me. She has a very good voice which is so soulful and full of emotion that it almost makes my heart break as I listen to the lyrics. I turn to look at Stilman, who is sitting next to me. I could see that he is also enjoying the performance. His eyes never leave her throughout the song.

_I seems like only yesterday...a small cafe, a crowded floor…_

Just then Lilly, who is sitting on the other side of Stilman, moves to whisper something in his ear, and I just make out what she says. "Didn't think she was your type. Bit young for you, isn't she?" Stilman merely smirks and continues listening to the song, eyes fixed to the singer on the stage. I look back to the stage myself and I suddenly get the feeling that she is singing to just Stilman and I. As if we were the only ones in the room. Soon the song is over and there are many claps and whistles from the other male patrons in the lounge. Stilman gets up from his chair.

"Come with me detective, there's someone I want you to meet." I stand up and follow him to the bar. To my surprise he leads me to the woman who had just been singing. "Detective Valens, I want to introduce you to our newest talent." he says and I smile. "This is Kat Miller."

**So Kat makes her appearance at last! In case any of you are interested, the song she was singing is called "Serenade in Blue". Hope you liked this chapter and by the way, for those of you who are worried that Scotty is falling for Kat, I can assure you he's not. He only has eyes for Lilly! **


	11. Chapter 11

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

I reach out to shake her hand and she smiles back at me. "Pleasure to meet you." I tell her.

"This is detective Scotty Valens." He introduces me to Miss Miller and I flinch internally at his use of my first name. I'm not used to this level of familiarity and I think that Stilman knows it, as I swear I can see him take some degree of satisfaction at my apparent discomfort.

"Detective." Miller greets me graciously.

"You have a beautiful voice." I tell her and she smiles.

"Thank you."

"How long have you been singing professionally?" I inquire.

"Not all that long," she tells me.

Just then Stilman takes out his cell phone and makes a call. He walks away from us, leaving Miss Miller and I chatting. He's only gone about a minute and then he returns. "Excuse us," he tells her and then pulls me away to have a private word. "So, you and Miss Miller seem to have hit it off." He begins, "Tell me detective, what do you think of our newest talent?"

I can feel my eyebrows furrow at his question, not sure as to what he is actually asking. "She seems...nice." I reply, hedging my bets.

Stilman frowns a little and he glances at her. "I would like you to do me a favour detective. I need you to run a background check on her."

"Why?" I ask, cautiously.

He turns his head back to me and smiles, "I'm...concerned she's not whom she claims to be."

"I'm sure a well connected man like yourself has the resources to do something like that without my help?" I ask.

"Believe me detective, if I could have done this through my own people I would not be asking for your assistance. I like to know exactly who it is I employ. You can't be too careful these days."

I smile, guessing at what he means. "Look, I'd like to help you but I'm not in the habit of running background checks for anyone who asks for them."

He grins slyly at me "now detective, I'm asking a _personal_ favour off you. It would be in your best interests to oblige."

I raise my eyebrows at that. "Oh really? And just why is that?"

"He leans into me slightly and says quietly, "Let's just say that if you do this for me, then I will owe you a favour. And a man who has an interest in my daughter should realise what that means."

I mull this over in my head. "Okay," I relent in the end, "but just this one time."

His smile broadens, "Excellent detective. I'm glad we seem to have started off on the right foot."

Just then Lilly walks over to us. "what are you guys talking about?" she asks.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with," Stilman tells her, "the good detective and I were just discussing business."

Lilly gives him a skeptical look which I could have sworn was also laced with concern. She then turns to me and smiles. "Scotty," she says as she takes my hand, "let's dance." She pulls me onto the dance floor near the stage as the saxophonist plays a slow ballad. Once we are out of earshot of her father she moves close to me and I put my arms around her as we begin to sway to the music. "So tell me, what were you and my father _really _talking about?"

I look at her and I can see the concern back on her face. "He wants me to run a background check on the singer, miss Miller." I tell her.

She pauses, as if contemplating something before saying, "Be careful Scotty."

I look at her and smile, "It's only a background check Lil."

"My father's a very powerful man, Scotty, don't let that charm fool you. He's dangerous."

"Oh I'm very much aware of what kind of man he is."

"I'm just saying, don't let your guard down with him, not even for a moment. He has a talent for finding people's weaknesses and exploiting them to his advantage."

"Lil…."

"I'm serious Scotty."

"I'm a cop Lil, I can take care of myself."

"Did he tell you that if you do this one thing for him he would owe you a favour?" she asks me, raising her eyebrows as if she already knows the answer.

I have to admit, I'm feeling a little like a fool now. "Yes,"

"That's how it starts." She says. "When you are in trouble or you need some information you'll remember what he told you and you'll call in that favour. He'll then start to make you trust him. He'll talk to you and find out how else you could use his help and he will freely give it until you eventually don't realise how dependent you have become on him. That's when he'll ask you to do him some favours."

I laugh incredulously, "Seriously Lil, that ain't gonna happen."

"I hope not Scotty," she tells me, her voice now tinged with sadness, "but I've seen it happen so many times before. How do you think he has so many of the cops you work with running round doing favours for him? How do you think he got the commissioner to drop the charges against Vera? He obviously has something on him. I….I just want you to be careful. If you are right and it was my father who killed David...just be careful Scotty." She says, whispering that last part.

I look into her sad blue eyes and I realise she's being deadly serious. I make a mental note to myself never to let my guard drop in front of Stilman, then hold her closer to me as the music plays on. "I will be Lil. I will be."

…

It's almost nine thirty when Stilman and his associates finally decide to leave. The five of us had spent the evening talking. Lil was right; the guy was sneaky, but I managed to keep my guard up the whole evening, much to the frustration of Stilman. Somehow though, I had the feeling he wouldn't give up so easily. It wasn't a total loss however, I had managed to get a good idea of what the guy was about. He projected an image of being calm and in control which belied an undercurrent of darkness. As he spoke it became all too apparent that he had a ruthless streak, and I was becoming increasingly certain that he was the guy I was looking for. Unfortunately, I had nothing in the way of evidence to support that theory. I had decided to walk Lilly to her room at the club. I was pleased that I had got to spend some time with her this evening. "Here we are," she says as we arrive at her door. "You wanna come in?"

I look around to see if anyone is watching us. "It's late and I should be getting back to the station, reports to write."

"Oh come on Scotty, the reports can wait, stay with me a few minutes more?"

She's making those eyes at me and I find that the word 'no' has been erased from my vocabulary. I nod and follow her inside. Once there, I take my jacket off and throw it over the back of a chair as she hands me a scotch. She sits down on the edge of the bed, holding a glass of wine. She has a faraway look in her eyes. "Penny for your thoughts." I tell her. She turns to me, but says nothing. "You were kinda quiet tonight." I set my glass down on the table and move to sit next to her. "You okay?"

"No." she says. "I've been thinking about it over and over again, and it doesn't make sense. I thought my father liked David, so why would he kill him?"

"Maybe he found out something that he shouldn't have?"

"And to think that he gave him the gun that killed him.." A single tear began to fall down her cheek. I reach out and gently brush it away with my thumb.

"Hey," I whisper, "if he did do this I promise he will pay for it."

I can see a sliver of doubt cross her face and it breaks my heart. "I told you before, he has connections, even if you did find proof that he did it, you won't be able to make the charges stick. So please Scotty, don't make promises you can't keep. I've had enough of that already."

This woman has been let down so many times in her life that she expects it. "You mean David?"

"David, my father, my mother," she laughs bitterly, "you know that Will is the only one in my life who hasn't left?"

"The bartender?" I ask and she nods. "You're a little like him you know? A good, decent man."

I smile at the compliment as I watch her finish off her drink. "Lil," I say as I place my hands on her shoulders and turn her so that she is now facing me, "I swear to you, if he's guilty, he'll pay!"

"Scotty, you can't…."

"Shhh, I mean it Lil, he will pay. I'll make him pay for hurting you like this!"

She reaches out to touch my face, her hands trembling, but from anger or sadness I couldn't say. I then place my own hands on hers and softly stroke them with my thumbs. She leans closer to me and her face is so close to mine I can feel the warmth of her breath on my lips. Her sad blue eyes, the scent of white wine and the heat emanating from her body push all rational thought out of my mind as I too lean forward and kiss her. The kiss is soft but meaningful and I pull back to look at her, wondering if this is what she wants too. Her eyes are closed and she is smiling. Those beautiful blue orbs then open and she gives me a such a look of longing that it's all the confirmation I need. The next kiss is more intense and my head begins to spin. I can feel my heart racing and the electricity flow through my body as we fall onto the bed. I can feel her arms wrap around me, tighter, before travelling up and down my back. My hands are in her hair when we break apart for air. God she's beautiful. I realise at that moment that I want nothing else than to hold her in my arms, to make love to her over and over again and to keep her safe. As we continue, I can feel my mind change gear, there are no more thoughts getting in the way, no doubts, no regrets, I could hardly think at all, there were no more words. It was all raw emotion, honest, succinct. I let my feelings take over and smiled at the loss of control as our bodies joined, becoming one entity.


	12. Chapter 12

A/N: Sorry it's been a while since the last post. My life has been really busy lately. Thanks to all who reviewed that last chapter, I really appreciate your thoughts and support for this story. Hope you like this next installment. :-)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

When I opened my eyes the room was dark, it took me a while to realise that I had fallen asleep. I smile as the memories of the previous evening come back to me and I look at the woman lying by my side, fast asleep. I just stay like that for a moment, thinking about the crazy turn of events that have lead to everything that has happened. I am shaken out of my reverie by a crashing sound from outside. I slowly get out of the bed and quickly get dressed, but before I can button my shirt up I hear it again. A crashing sound, like objects being thrown around. I get my gun and slowly leave the room as quietly as I can, not wanting to wake up Lilly. I close the door and walk down the corridor towards the noise. As I walk down I can see a light coming from an open door at the end of the corridor. I move towards it cautiously, gun drawn. When I reach the room I wait outside for a second before poking my head round the doorframe and then immediately enter the room and point my gun at the person inside. "Vera!" I say, "What the hell are you doing?"

The ex-PI looks at me and I could tell at once that he'd been drinking. I quickly glance around the room and notice that all the furniture is in a state of disarray. There are books and papers all over the floor; the whole place was a mess! Vera, who's kneeling on the floor rifling through a stack of notebooks, stops what he's doing and looks up at me and I can tell that he's pissed that I have caught him in the act.

"What the hell are you doing here Valens? Thought you left hours ago?"

Yeah, he's one to talk.

"What the hell are _you _doing?" I ask.

"None of your business! Get out of here!"

"Who's room is this?" I demand as I walk inside. He stands up and tries to stop me from going any further. Now that I am standing closer to him I notice that he has a bruise on his cheek. "What happened to your face?" I ask.

Vera's hand instinctively goes to his cheek and touches it lightly. "Nothing." He replies curtly, "now get the hell out of here before I throoow you out!" his speech is slurred and I fight the urge to grin at the thought of him trying to make good on his word in his inebriated state. I ignore his threat and move into the room, my reflexes obviously quicker than his are right now. As I get further into the room I can hear a different sound, coming from the closed door to my right. I begin to walk toward it but Vera grabs my arm. "I said get out of here!"

"I think you're forgetting, I'm the one with the gun." I remind him. "Now let go of my arm before I shoot you!"

Okay, I'm not really going to shoot him, but he is really starting to annoy me. The threat seems to work as he reluctantly lets go of my arm. I continue to move toward the door but just as I'm about to reach for the handle Vera tries to stop me again.

"Don't go in there!"

I ignore him and turn the handle and almost gasp at what I see. "Miss Miller!" She is sitting tied to a chair and from the expression on her face I could tell it wasn't by choice. I quickly untie her and she stands up, thanking me. I turn around, "what the hell is going on here Vera?"

"You should really learn to mind your own business Valens." He says, "This is between me Stilman and Miller."

"Stilman put you up to this?"

"Let's just say it's a favour for a friend."

"Seems you're doing a lot of favours for him."

"He's a good friend to have."

Lilly's word's from the previous evening came flooding back to my mind and what she told me finally hit home. "What happened to you Vera?" I ask, taking in his vastly dishevelled appearance. I find I'm starting to feel a little sorry for the guy. "I read your file; you use to be good, had your own business and everything. You were earning a decent living as a PI."

He then gives me a look of disdain "stuff happens."

I nod in understanding, "Yeah, it does. But what I don't understand is why you're living like this? You don't seem like the kind of guy to just give up and accept defeat. You used to go to extreme lengths to close a case for your clients; you even bent the law on occasion, so why give up now?"

He sniffs and sways a little, "You wouldn't understand."

"You're just content to run errands for Stilman. You're his lackey by day and a drunk by night. Did Stilman give you that too?" I ask him, pointing to the bruise on his face.

He looks down for a split second and then back up again "I made a mistake handcuffing Lilly to the car. He wasn't happy with that. He was just protecting his daughter." I smirk at that comment, Lilly must have told Stilman in order to get back at Vera for what he did to us. "You know, you really should learn to mind your own business detective. You shouldn't have untied her, she's not who you think she is!"

"And just who _is _she?" I ask, but before he could reply I feel the gun being taken away from my hand. I turn around to find Miss Miller pointing my own gun at me. For a few seconds I think I'm imagining all this until she speaks.

"Stay where you are, both of you!"

"What the hell? What are you doin'? "

"Over there!" she orders Vera and I. "Now!" We both make our way to the other side of the room.

"Miss Miller?" I'm completely confused by this unexpected turn of events. "What's going on?"

"Told you you should't have united her!" Vera gloats and I've gone back to thinking he's just annoying again.

"Cuffs!" she demands, ignoring my question, "take out your cuffs and cuff yourself to him and give me the keys!"

Seeing as I had little choice in the matter, I decide to do as she asks.

"Who are you?" I ask.

"Your friend can tell you that." She replies, referring to Vera.

"She's a private investigator!" he says and I do not believe what I am hearing.

"Another one?" I say quietly to myself in disbelief, but Miller must have heard.

"That's right detective. I've been working undercover here." She confirms, the gun still pointed at us.

"Who hired you?"

"Come on now detective, you don't really think I'm gonna reveal the identity of my client, do you?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Someone has been following me, stalking me, leaving pictures they have taken of me under my door. Yesterday I received a death threat. They said that they will kill me if I don't back off from this case I'm working on. I now believe that it was one of you." She tells us as she unhooks the safety.

"So you're gonna kill _both_ of us?" Vera asks.

"Why leave room for error?"

"You're crazy, we're not trying to kill you!" I say, trying to make her see reason.

"Well, not anymore you're not." she says as she takes aim.

"Drop it!" another voice says from the doorway. I turn around and there's Lilly pointing a gun at Miller, who, judging by the look on her face, obviously wasn't expecting this. "I said drop the gun or I swear to God I will shoot you!"

She reluctantly drops the weapon and Lilly rushes over to us after grabbing the keys to the cuffs from Miller. She releases us and I retrieve my gun from the floor. "Miss Rush, what are you doing? These men are dangerous!" Miller tells her.

"That's funny," she smirks and I am surprised to see this side of her. "Seeing as you were the one about to kill them."

"I was trying to protect us from them." She explains.

"What are you talking about?"

"My client has been told that someone is trying to kill you, a detective, the same detective that killed your fiancé all those years ago. I've been hired to protect you."

Lilly is visibly shocked. "W..wait, you're saying a detective killed David?"

Miller nods, "And now I believe that the same detective is trying to kill me to cover it up."

"Who's your client?"

"I can't tell you that!"

"Tell me who your client is!" she demands.

"I..I don't know!"

"Don't lie to me!"

"Really, I don't know! We spoke on the phone, he insisted that he remain anonymous!"

"You accept a job from someone you don't meet face to face?" I ask.

"He's paying me fifty grand for this, so yeah."

I whistle at that, "that's a lot of money." I look at Lilly and she reads my thoughts perfectly.

"It's not him!" she tells me, "it's not my father. If he knew who killed David he would have shot him by now!"

"Unless he was trying to cover it up by throwing suspicion on us!"

"No!" she insists, "no!"

"Lilly's right." Vera says, "Stilman wouldn't try to frame me, I'm too valuable to him."

"Wake up Vera, you're just a pawn to him. He wouldn't think twice about setting you up if it suited him."

"Shut up!" Lilly's voice is raised in anger now. "My father wouldn't have done this. I know he wouldn't. There's got to be another explanation!"

There's silence in the room for a few seconds before my phone rings. I cautiously take the phone out of my pocket, "That's probably the results of the background check. No need for it now I guess." I answer the phone but to my surprise it wasn't PPD calling.

"_Detective Valens?_" came the voice from the other end.

"This is Valens."

"_It's Maria Garner detective_." Her voice was trembling, like she was afraid.

"Ms Garner, what is it? What's wrong?"

"_I got a call about...about a minute ago...from a man….he said that if don't want to end up like David….I should go to the warehouse by the docks. Two hours from now_." I could tell she was almost in tears.

"Ms Garner, try to calm down, it's okay. What did the man sound like?"

"_He..he had a...a deep voice, sounded kinda stern...I…don't know, I'm sorry."_

"It's okay, I'll be at your place in a few minutes. It's going to be okay." I tell her and then hang up.

"Who was that?" Lilly asks.

"That was David's sister. She just got a death threat from a guy with, what she described, as has having a deep, stern voice. He told her that if she doesn't meet him at the warehouse by the docks in two hours she is going to be killed."

"Oh my God!" Miller says quietly, she looks stunned.

"What?" Vera asks.

"That sounds like the same guy who threatened me!" We all look at her and then there's silence in the room again.

Just what the hell is going on?


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: This is the penultimate chapter of this story. I just want to say a massive thank you to all those of you who have stuck with it so far and to everyone who has reviewed/followed/favourited this story. I really appreciate you taking the time to let me know your thoughts. Thank you so much!

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

There is a stunned silence in the room after Miller's revelation but I decide to break it, after all, a woman's life was at stake. "I have to get over there now!"

"Wait, you're not going anywhere! How do we know you're not behind this?" Miller asks.

"Are you kiddin' me? We don't have time for this!"

"How do we know you're not going there to kill her yourself?"

"That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard. I'm a cop for God's sake!"

Miller rolls her eyes "yeah, and?"

Lilly then turns to me and says, "What if it's a trap and this guy _wants_ you to go there? What if he wants to kill you too?"

"To what end?" I ask.

"The same reason he threatened Miller. Maybe you're getting too close to finding the truth. I'm going with you Scotty!"

"If she's going then so am I!" Miller insists.

"Excuse me?" I question.

"I've been hired to protect her, so I'm not letting her out of my sight till I find out for sure who's trying to kill her and stop them!"

"Well if she's going, I'm going too!" Vera adds and I can start to feel my head begin to hurt. "I'm not letting _her _out of my sight!"

I sigh, "Okay we'll all go." And with that we move out of the room and down the corridor. Once we are out of the building we walk towards Vera's car. "I'll drive." I tell him but he shakes his head.

"Not a chance!" He says and before I have an opportunity to argue he is striding off in front of us, opens the driver's side door and gets in the car. The rest of us follow him in, Miller sits in front with him while Lilly and I sit in the back.

"No handcuffs this time Vera?" Lilly asks as she sits down and I can see Vera giving her a glare from the rearview mirror.

I smile a little to myself while Miller just shakes her head and rolls her eyes. "I don't wanna know!" she says.

Once we are moving I give Vera directions to Ms Garner's house. I say a silent prayer that she will still be alive when we get there. Every so often I can see Miller glance back at us in the rearview mirror, probably to make sure that I haven't tried to poison Lilly or something! God, this paranoia is going to get us all into trouble if it keeps up.

I look out of the car window and although it's still dark I can see the sun starting to peek through the night. I look at my watch; four thirty-six. Lilly takes my hand and smiles, "You okay?" she whispers.

"Yeah," I reassure her, "you were pretty convincing back there. Would you have really shot her?"

She grins and winks at me "guess we'll never know!"

"I didn't even know you owned a gun!"

She playfully rolls her eyes at me and says, "Please, I practically grew up around guns!" she then giggles "come on, you didn't think I was some helpless damsel that would always need rescuing did you?"

Well, yes I did. But I'm not about to tell her that! "Off course not!" I lie but I can tell she can see right through me. She giggles again and kisses my cheek. There is obviously a whole lot more to this woman than I imagined. I've gotta say, the more I get to know her the more intrigued I am by her.

She then takes out her cell phone and begins texting. "I'm just letting Will know I won't be in to work this morning." She says.

I pause, wondering if what I'm about to ask is too personal, but I decide that after the night we just shared it might be okay. "He really cares about you doesn't he? And you about him?"

She stops texting and looks at me; there is a trace of sadness on her face. "He's always been there for me. He gave up a lot to make sure I had what I needed growing up. I love my father, but Will's more of a father to me than my real father ever will be."

…

We arrive at Maria Garner's house about fifteen minutes later and Lilly and I walk up to the front door, the other two remain in the car. I knock on the door and call out to her. "Ms Garner? Ms Garner, it's detective Valens." There's no answer. I step back a little and look around. Her car is still in the driveway. I try again, "Ms Garner."

"Something's wrong!" Lilly says and panic begins to fill my mind.

"Stand back!" I tell her and after she steps away I kick the door in and enter, weapon drawn. There's no one there. Lilly follows behind me, gun in hand. I walk around the ground floor of the house but after discovering nothing, I moved upstairs and onto the first floor. Lilly at my heels. "She's not here!" I tell her. I can hear footsteps run into the house. "Everything okay? What's going on?" I can hear Miller shout out to us. We both run down the stairs where Miller and Vera are waiting for us. "She gone, there's no sign of a struggle and no note."

"Scotty!" I can hear Lilly calling out to me from the kitchen. I hurry over to her.

"What is it Lil?"

"The backdoor is unlocked, and it looks like it has been forced open. You don't think….."

"Shit!"

"What's wrong?" Vera asks as both he and Miller join us.

"We need to get to that warehouse right now!" I tell them and we all quickly make our way to the car.

The warehouse is about a twenty-five minute drive from Maria Garner's place but at this time of the morning and with Vera's driving we managed to get there in under fifteen. Once again all three of them insisted on coming with me and with no time to argue with them I agreed. I get out of the car and cautiously make my way to the entrance, Vera was flanking me all the way. I checked the door, it was open. "This whole thing reeks of a trap!" He whispers to me and I nod, but we have no choice, Ms Garner could be in great danger, if not already dead. Resigning myself to that fact, I continue onwards. If it weren't for the faint sunlight streaming through the small windows near the ceiling, the place would have been completely dark. I search around for a light switch and when I find one I switch it on. I scan the room, which was largely empty, save for the huge cardboard boxes stacked off to one side. I slowly edge towards them, my senses are on high alert. Vera was right, this whole thing is most likely a set up, and we have walked right into it.

Something was bugging me about the way the boxes were arranged so I decide to head towards them, all the while keeping a careful eye on my companions. Once I get there I take a look behind them and that's where I find Ms Garner. She's lying on the floor, unconscious. I immediately check her neck for a pulse and breathe a sigh of relief when I find one. "Over here! I've found Ms Garner, she's unconscious but alive!" The others rush over while I carefully check her for any signs of injury. "Doesn't look like she's been hurt." I tell them and gently try to wake her up. "Ms Garner." I whisper to her, "Ms Garner, it's detective Valens." She begins to stir. "Ms Garner, what happened? Who did this to you?" Her eyes open and she looks at me, confused, as if waking from a deep sleep.

"Detective?" she asks.

"That's right. I'm here to help you. Can you remember how you got here?"

I help her sit up but just as she opens her mouth to speak I hear a clicking sound behind us. We all turn around and there's Stilman and his two henchmen from the club. "Stilman?" I'm shocked, but I know I really shouldn't be.

"Detective." he says, his eyes set into a cold stare as he points a gun in our direction. "Step away from her. Now!"


	14. Chapter 14

A/N: So here it is - the last chapter of the story, I really hope you like it. This has been an interesting story to write, playing with the characters in a different setting. I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed, followed and favourited this story and to those who have stuck with it to the end. It means a lot to me :-)

**Disclaimer: I don't own Cold Case**

I could see the questioning expression on Lilly's face as she watches her father. Miller and Vera both have similar expressions on their faces but to be completely honest with you, I'm not really surprised to see Stilman here. As I stand up from my crouching position near Maria Garner all the pieces are finally starting to fall into place. Stilman motions for the four of us to move over to the side and away from Ms Garner, which we do, slowly, all except Lilly, who just stands still. "What are you doing?" she asks.

"Lilly, come over here." Stilman tells her, but his voice has a gentle edge to it, as if he's trying to protect her. She refuses to obey him, moving closer to me instead. "Lilly!"

"No!" she tells him.

I watch his face carefully and his reaction confirms my suspicions. "Lilly come over here now!" he presses a little harder.

"No!" she insists.

"Lilly, that woman is dangerous! She is a private investigator who has been hired to kill you!"

"You got it wrong!" Miller cuts in and Stilman quickly shifts the gun in her direction.

"Be quiet!" he tells her, his voice raised. "Mister Robertson, bring Miss Miller over here!" Robertson does as he is ordered. Miller tries to fight him but he restrains her arms. There is a terrified look on her face as she realises that Stilman intends to kill her.

I'm not about to just stand by and watch this lady's execution. "No!" I shout, "Leave her alone!" but seconds later I too am restrained by mister Martinez.

Stilman's eyes darken as he looks at me, "Do not interfere detective. I told you before, I will have my revenge!"

Miller struggles against Robertson's grasp, "You've got the wrong person, I'm trying to protect her!" she insists.

"I don't think so. I know that it was a detective who killed David Garner and it is the same person who is trying to kill Lilly. At first I thought it was detective Valens, so I asked him to do a background check on you, if he was guilty it would have been a good way to throw suspicion on someone else, but his reluctance to do so and the way he put himself in harm's way to protect my daughter changed my mind. And then _you_ show up at the club…" Stilman counters and aims his gun getting ready to exact his revenge.

"She's telling the truth!" I shout and Stilman looks in my direction.

"And how would you know that?" he asks.

"Cos I know who the killer is!"

I can feel everyone's eyes turn to me and my heart is beating faster. There's a few seconds of silence before Stilman speaks, "Enlighten us detective." I could tell he was just humouring me and that he'd already made up his mind, but I had to make him see who was really behind all this.

"It wasn't Miller," I begin and then turn to Lilly "and it wasn't your father either Lil." I tell her.

"But you said…" Lilly says but I cut her off.

"I know, and at first I believed it was him; all the evidence pointed to it. But you were right, if he wanted someone dead he would have found a way to do it without drawing suspicion upon himself. No, this was not his style and he certainly would not have left any clues behind."

"Then who did it?" asks Vera.

"The killer had to have been someone who spent a lot of time around both Stilman and David Garner, someone who knew that Stilman had given a gun to him for protection." I pause, slightly relieved that I have got everyone's attention and for the moment Miller was safe. "Vera was a likely suspect but after the way that Stilman got the charges dropped for him I realized that it didn't make sense for him to have killed Stilman's future son in law. Stilman is a good friend to him, too good a friend for him to lose if he was found out, and there's no doubt in my mind that Stilman would have found out. One look at his file told me he was reckless, there would have been evidence of his guilt left behind."

I could hear Vera sniff in agreement behind me, "Thank you! Err..I think?" he says.

"Which means that this crime had to have been committed by someone much more careful and meticulous." I could feel Martinez's grip loosen on me as he listened to me speak. "When Ms Garner first came to me, she mentioned that whoever killed her brother may have been after a ring. It later occurred to me that this could have been the engagement ring he was going to give to Lilly."

I can hear Lilly gasp quietly at this.

"What I could't understand is why David Garner's killer would be after this ring. Maybe they wanted to sell it? Or maybe, just maybe, there was an emotional motive behind it!"

Stilman's eyes are fixed on me and I can tell I'm getting through to him. I let out a silent breath and continue. "Jealousy, for instance. This means that the killer had to be in Stilman and Lilly's inner circle, someone who was close enough to Lilly and David to know that he was going to give this to her. Someone, who didn't like the idea of her marrying David."

"Could have been Windsdale?" Vera said.

"I thought about that. The way he homed in on Lilly after David's death made him a good suspect, but Windsdale is not the brightest bulb in the box, if it were him, Stilman would have found out. But someone really wanted to pin this on him, even left me clues as to the location of the gun. Which brings me to my next point."

"Go on detective." Stilman tells me and I do.

"We found out that the gun that was used to kill Garner was the very same gun that Stilman himself gave David to use for protection. I gotta say, that was smart. As I said, the person who did this had to be someone who was meticulous, someone who would make sure that the evidence wouldn't point to them. Mister Stilman, how many people knew you gave the gun to David?"

Stilman paused before saying, "Just Lilly, David and…." I could see his eyes widening in realization.

"That's right. The one person who keeps track of things like that, your record keeper, mister Robertson!" I look across at Robertson and I can see fear and surprise cross his face which is then quickly replaced by anger.

"No, it can't be!" Stilman says, but I can see part of him believes me.

"How did you find out that it was a detective that killed David? I'm willing to bet someone left an anonymous message for you." Stilman's expression confirmed my guess. "He must have panicked when he found out I had re-opened the case and when he realised I was getting close, he tried to frame you, Windsdale, Miller, Vera and even me!"

Stilman takes a step towards him but before he could reach him, Robertson pulls out a gun and points it at Miller's head. "Take another step and I'll blow her head off!" he says and Stilman backs away. Robertson drags Miller to the opposite end of the warehouse.

"Shit! Never saw that one coming!" Vera says.

Martinez has now completely let go of me. "Robertson," I begin as I instinctively move in front of Lilly, "put the gun down. You don't want to do this."

"Why?" Lilly asks, "Why did you kill him?"

"Because he is in love with you!" I explain and she is visibly shocked. "I realised this when I saw the way he looked at you at the club. The jealousy on his face when you were at the bar with Martinez was obvious. That's why he tried to frame me too. He wanted me out of the way. I even got a threatening phone call from him warning me to stay away."

"You think you're so clever!" Robertson sneers at me. "You come in here and think you can just take away my girl, now you want to put me in prison and take away my life! You first!" He aims the gun at me but before he can pull the trigger someone gets to him, shoots him three times in the chest. He falls to the ground and Miller runs over to us.

I turn my head and there Stilman stands with the smoking gun in his hand. He looks at me, his eyes still cold. "One for David, one for Lilly and one for you, detective."

I stare back at him, realising what he has done.

"There is one thing I don't understand," Vera says, "who hired Miller?"

"I did!"

We all turn around and there is Will Jeffries standing in the doorway. "Will?" Lilly walks over to him. "When detective Valens told me he was looking into the Garner shooting again, I had a feeling someone would come after you. I always believed it had to be someone close to Stilman but I just couldn't prove it. So I saved the money I made from the bar and hired a PI."

"How did you know we'd be here?" I ask.

"Lilly told me." he replies.

"He worries." Lilly adds.

"I'm just glad you're okay." He tells her and they hug. They really seem like father and daughter.

A few minutes later the place is filled with police cars and techs from the coroner's office. There were also a few paramedics looking after Maria Garner. After recounting everything that had happened to my partner I walk over to Lilly who is standing outside the warehouse, getting some air. "You okay?" I ask.

She turns around, smiles and pulls me into a warm hug. "Thank you Scotty. Thank you for catching David's killer."

"They're releasing Windsdale too." I tell her, "He'll be glad to see you again." I tell her and she sighs.

"That's good. Poor James, I hope he can move on with his life now."

"Do you think he can?" I ask.

"He has to. I can't be there for him like that anymore now." She smiles and it lights up her beautiful blue eyes, "I'll be busy getting on with my own life." She holds my hand and pulls me into a tender kiss.

"I was thinkin', how 'bout you and I go out to dinner tonight, celebrate?"

"That sounds perfect." she replies and kisses me again.

I turn my head back to the warehouse where I can see Stilman and Will talking to each other.

"Will and your father seem to be getting on well?" I tell her.

"Didn't you know, they're old friends." I look at her surprised. "How do you think Will ended up taking care of me after my mother left?" she giggles a little at my reaction and then whispers in my ear, "told you my father loves me!"

I occurs to me then that I should keep expecting surprises from this wonderful woman, and I look forward to it. "Scotty," Lilly begins, her tone more serious now, "you know he saved your life."

I nod my head, "I know."

"He'll come to collect on that debt someday. Just be prepared."

She was right. I knew it the moment he gave me that look after he shot Robertson. He did save my life and I now owed him a favor and something told me that it wouldn't be too long before he came to collect on it. But that was another day. Right now I was looking forward to going home and getting some sleep, followed by a nice evening with the woman I loved. But first I had to head back to PPD. There was a box on it that needed to be filed away with those six letters that were so satisfying to write.

Another case closed.

**I hoped you liked the ending. Thanks so much for reading! :-)**


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